WTC final: Michael Vaughan picks his 'obvious' winner between India & New Zealand
Michael Vaughan has picked New Zealand squad for WTC final as the clear favorites to win the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against India. The former England skipper highlighted that English conditions and the use of Duke balls would tilt the balance in the Kiwis' favor.
New Zealand have already landed in England and are in quarantine, preparing for a two-match Test series against the hosts next month. Michael Vaughan believes the two Tests will give the Kiwis a big edge going into the WTC final as India squad for WTC final will have no games under their belt before the summit clash.
"New Zealand (will win). English conditions, the Duke ball, and India on the back of a busy schedule… they’ll arrive pretty much a week before and go straight into it, [and] New Zealand have two test matches, you could argue warmups against England to get them prepared for the final. So it’s quite an obvious one for me," Michael Vaughan said on Spark Sport.
Vaughan also talked about how New Zealand would be the better exponents of the Duke ball with their experience.
"New Zealand will be better prepared and they’ll have more of a group of players who’ve played more cricket with the red ball, particularly the Duke ball here in the UK. New Zealand, all the way," Vaughan added.
Known for his blunt comments and predictions on social media, Vaughan had earlier predicted Australia would whitewash India in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar trophy. However, Team India defied all odds to clinch the series by a 2-1 margin.
"Under Kane Williamson, New Zealand have started to play high class, disciplined Test match cricket" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan believes the current New Zealand crop led by Kane Williamson is the best Test team in the nation's history. The former England skipper also added that there weren't too many great Kiwi teams in the past.
"It’s not difficult, you haven’t had many great teams. You’ve had great players, you go back to the 80s, Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe were up there with the greatest to have ever played test match cricket. As a team, Brendon McCullum’s team were exciting and vibrant but I never felt they were consistent because they let the opposition in by playing so aggressively," Michael Vaughan said.
Vaughan feels that the Kane Williamson-led team can sustain pressure on the opposition throughout a Test match, making them tough opponents.
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"Under Kane Williamson you’ve started to play high class, disciplined Test match cricket over long periods, and real quality teams do it over day one to five. And it takes until the end of day five to wear a team down to get that win, this is what this New Zealand side can do," Vaughan concluded.
The WTC final is set to be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton from June 18 as per WTC final schedule. Following the final, Team India will stay back in England for a grueling five-Test series against the host nation.