Sir Richard Hadlee has heaped praise on the current New Zealand team after they won the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Mace defeating India in the WTC 2021 Final.
He called the Kane Williamson-led side the best in the history of New Zealand cricket and its performances in the past two years as “outstanding”.
Williamson-led New Zealand team is currently top of the world in the Test and ODI cricket while third in the T20I cricket, as the golden generation of the Kiwis, are experiencing extraordinary success recently across the formats while maintaining great sportsmanship on the field.
On Wednesday, New Zealand thrashed Team India by eight wickets in the WTC 2021 Final at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton to win the inaugural World Test Championship title.
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Following the historic triumph, Hadlee, inarguably New Zealand's greatest cricketer and all-time leading wicket-taker with 431 Test wickets, lauded the national team for their brilliant run at the highest level over the last couple of years, saying the current group of players is the best in New Zealand’s history.
Hadlee stated: “This is a special day in the history of NZ cricket, a day to celebrate the magnificent achievement of winning the inaugural World Test Championship. It was a thrilling Test match, with twists and turns throughout...it was a dominant BLACKCAPS performance over a very good Indian team.”
The legendary cricketer further added, “Over the years NZC have built a significant depth of players, which makes us one of the most competitive teams in world cricket. It's fair to say that this current group of players is the best in our history.”
He also credited New Zealand’s World Test Championship title victory to their stunning performance in the format in the last two years.
The former pacer further noted, “Over the past two years, the BLACKCAPS performances in the Test arena have been outstanding with Test match and series wins at home and abroad, and they thoroughly deserve to be crowned world champions.”
Hadlee signed off by saying, “The whole team has shown a high degree of professionalism. Their skill sets have complemented each other to make them a complete playing unit. The management and support staff have also played important roles in preparing players to perform at the highest level.”
(With PTI Inputs)
