Xtra Time Web Desk: Former New Zealand legendary cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee on Thursday praised the title-winning Black Caps team for winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship title, describing them as the best New Zealand cricket side in history.
Kane Williamson’s side on Wednesday created history at the Ageas Bowl by winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, defeating India by 8 wickets.
The BlackCaps find themselves at No.1 in the world test and ODI rankings, and third for T20s, the Black Caps’ golden generation are experiencing an unprecedented wave of success.
Hadlee, New Zealand’s greatest cricketer and all-time leading test wicket taker (431 wickets) admired what the side had achieved, not just in Southampton, but in recent years.
In a statement, the former New Zealand great said,
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 and, despite the inclement weather and loss of time, it was a dominant BLACKCAPS performance over a very good Indian team.
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.
The whole team has shown a high degree of professionalism. Their skill sets have complimented 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.
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.