New Zealand

The Black Caps' defining era arrived in the 2010s and peaked with their first World Test Championship title in 2021. Under the calm leadership of Kane Williamson, they carved out a reputation for relentless consistency, reaching the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup finals before falling agonisingly short, the 2019 final lost at Lord's on boundary count after a tied super over. The 2021 WTC final victory over India at Southampton remains their crowning achievement, fitting reward for a side that so often thrived as underdogs.

New Zealand's cricket roots run deep. They played their first Test in 1930 but spent decades as minnows, securing a maiden Test win only in 1956. The great Richard Hadlee carried the side through the 1980s, and the 1992 World Cup semi-final run at home showed what smart, inventive cricket could achieve with modest resources. Brendon McCullum's aggressive reinvention of the team in the mid-2010s laid the platform, and stalwarts like Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Trent Boult turned that promise into sustained success. Punching above their weight is no longer a surprise; it is the national method.