Former England captain Michael Vaughan ignores India and England to crown New Zealand No. 1: New Zealand is one of the best teams in world cricket at the moment. They have shown their dominance in all formats of the game by defeating India first in the Test series and then in the ODI series for two consecutive years. The team has reached four finals of the last nine ICC tournaments across all formats and won only once.
The Kiwis won the ICC World Test Championship final in the 2021 edition by defeating India in the final. The Black Caps have once again qualified for the knockout stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. They have been seeded in the Super 8, Group 2 along with England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Michael Vaughan praised the New Zealand team fiercely
Ahead of the first Super 8 match against Pakistan on Saturday, a former England captain praised the Kiwis on a talk show called Stick to Cricket and endorsed their potential despite not winning major trophies; They are at their best.
Michael Vaughan said, “The New Zealand cricket team, in terms of their programs in New Zealand, with the number of people they have to pick, they have to be the best team in the world, right, based on the performances they perform across all three formats. I know they are not winning big, but they are always up there.”
Here is the video
“Pound for pound they’re the best team!”
How influential is New Zealand? pic.twitter.com/iteV6PaeKw
– Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) 20 February 2026
Michael Vaughan said, “And beating your intense matches. To make the most of what you have. So I would go again, look at what we’ve got in this country now. All our pathway programmes, everything that happens within the English cricket academies, you know, our Lions team, suddenly going to Australia this winter, now going to the UAE.”
New Zealand does not have excellent facilities like ECB
“The kind of facilities we have there for our players need to be improved, which I’m guessing New Zealand doesn’t get, and the ECB is able to afford the expenses we have. Um, the Kiwis have to do that, right?” Phil Tufnell responded by asking, “How do they do it?” Vaughn replied, “I don’t know. Is that what they do?”
In response, David Lloyd said, “They’ve got 6 teams, haven’t they? That’s it. They’ve only got 6 teams. And so there’s a small pool of players. Yes, and if you’re in that pool, you have every chance to play. They should do it that simple, that’s their system.”
New Zealand cricket has improved over the years
Later, the trio discussed Kiwi club cricket and what it is like and agreed that it is probably quite strong. Although he did not know much about it, he believed it was as good, although not better, than the Sheffield Shield, a domestic first-class cricket competition in Australia.
The Kiwis are in a transition phase; However, they have some experienced promoters who are guiding the young cricketers, and they have been playing a good brand of cricket, especially in ICC tournaments. Kiwi openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen have been in sensational form. They will expect fire from the top against Pakistan tomorrow.
Also read: South Africa’s ‘unfair advantage’ in T20 World Cup 2026 exposed by India’s batting coach
