Brendon McCullum, who made his debut in 2002, had captained the team before 2013 but only became a full-fledged captain in that year after Ross Taylor was unceremoniously removed from that position. Little did Mike Hesson, the maker of these decisions, know that his action would turn out to be one of the greatest things that ever happened to New Zealand cricket. But what if Ross Taylor remained the captain of the New Zealand team and Brendon McCullum remained as it is and the ‘Baz’ era never happened? 

All eyes are on Taylor and how the new era of Taylor-Hesson turns out for New Zealand. Next, the hosts have won the series opener convincingly and McCullum (69*), at the end of the game, speaks of how the captaincy burden being taken off has helped him grow as a player. Meanwhile, a certain Kane Williamson at No.3, awarded the Man of the March for his 74, shows the kind of promise the team had been looking for. Taylor and Hesson, at the press conference, have made it clear that they are building a team that will do wonders in the long run and that is not a dark horse in every ICC tournament. 

Santner’s name was all over, as Vettori was on an exile with no signs of return, being called as Hamilton’s Vettori after a great domestic season. Now the turn he produces, at Sharjah, has the centurion Ahmed Shehzad all bamboozled as the bails behind him are off. At the end of the game, that New Zealand lost despite Williamson’s ton and debutant Henry Nicholls’ half-century, Taylor said that the management have pretty much finalised the bowling department are ready to take the risk with a rather new-look team. As far as the batting is concerned, a final call will be taken during the seven-match long Sri Lanka series at home. 

It’s February 2015, a day of love and a special day for cricket fans as the World Cup kicks off, and New Zealand are facing Sri Lanka at Christchurch. Ross Taylor is living his dreaming of leading the side in a World Cup. Signs are promising for New Zealand, who won the toss and have Martin Guptill in the form of his life. Guptill had just scored three centuries against Sri Lanka, while Tom Latham’s poor form had Brendon McCullum back as a regular and Henry Nicholls had to bat down the order. Both openers started whacking the Lankan attack from ball one. The game, which the hosts won by 102 runs, saw Boult-Southee-Santner bagging three each with one run out caused by Jimmy Neesham whose all-rounder abilities had denied Grant Elliot a spot in the squad. What stands at the end of the next five weeks, New Zealand have won all home games except one - against Australia. 

AB de Villiers, unbeaten at 170, has smacked all the Kiwi bowlers and put up a target of 310 for New Zealand to chase. The top-order gives a great start to the Kiwis but rain comes in and the target is revised to 281 off 43 overs. The hosts have to score 50 more runs in four overs with five wickets remaining. Williamson, on his way to another hundred, starts firing. But while coming down on one foot to whip one over long-on, he falls prey to JP Duminy landing a safe catch. As a result, wickets keep tumbling down as Jimmy Neesham (34 off 19*) watches from the other end and suddenly 14 runs are required off the last over, with Dale Steyn on the attack. Neesham has denied two singles to keep Boult away from the strike. 

He sent one to the square leg boundary and followed it with a swift cover drive. With six runs still required off the final three deliveries, Neesham was bamboozled by two consecutive yorkers by the great Dale Steyn. On the final delivery, New Zealand still requiring six runs, Neesham went for the big one but the fielder at long-on, Duminy, landed a catch that shattered New Zealand’s dreams of making it to the final for the seventh time in World Cup history. Steyn walked to Neesham, kneeling on the ground with his head down, and consoled him.  

It’s July 14 2019, the crowd at Lord’s will be witnessing a new World Champion today. Taylor and Latham with the bat and Boult and Matt Henry had bulldozed India in the semifinals to reach the final at Lords, New Zealand’s first. Before history is made, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor meet at the toss and the Kiwi wins it to opt to bowl first. Lockie Ferguson, a revelation, bagged four wickets with Santner picking up three to restrict the hosts to a total of 241 in 50 overs. While Guptill was dismissed early in the chase, Nicholls stood his ground and formed a 77-run partnership with Williamson. When Ross Taylor walked in, the Kiwis were on 101/2 (30.5 overs). Taylor kept it slow and let others bat around him. With New Zealand’s fourth dismissal, Neesham joined the action. He did not have to bat in the semifinal but the memories of the 2015 semifinal still haunted him, as he tweeted last night. 

Taylor had barely survived an lbw decision against him, by Marius Erasmus, when batting on 15. The seniormost Kiwi had already announced that irrespective of the result, he will hand over the captaincy to Williamson who is ready to take charge. Both Neesham and Taylor had a huge milestone in front of them, their final chance to get things right. Taylor continued taking it slow, while Neesham greeted everyone starting from Jofra Archer to Mark Wood with an occasional boundary. At the start of the 45th over, Archer came in to bowl his 9th, and only seven runs were required. Taylor, on strike, took a single off the first delivery and passed it on to his partner. Neesham stepped out and launched a six over the mid-wicket fence to win New Zealand their first-ever World Cup trophy!