5 reasons why New Zealand can win the 2017 Champions Trophy
The Blackcaps, under the leadership of Kane Williamson, begin their 2017 ICC Champions Trophy campaign on Friday with a dual against Trans-Tasman rivals Australia at Edgbaston.
The team has done well in the last 2 major events, reaching the semifinal and final respectively and will now to look to go one step further in the eight-team event, that began on Thursday.
1.Good recent record in England
New Zealand has toured England quite a number of times and have put up a good fight on each of those occasions.
Last time around, the side lost a tightly-fought series 2-3, but in 2013 and 2008, the Blackcaps triumphed 2-1 in the ODIs.
Usually, the limited-overs leg of their tours are scheduled in the latter half of the summer and hence the pitches are more suited to the batsmen, as was the case when Martin Guptill smashed 189 at the Oval a few years back.
That perhaps suit the Blackcaps, resulting in the good showing.