SA is trying to make inroads in WTC point table now. Kolapak system is not the problem anymore so no more excuses, hope they continue this kind of performance in future as well.
Yeah in recent time, under Williamson this kiwi team become excellent unit and they always punch above their weight. Having said that other SENA country Australia also don't take them seriously in Tests, for example CA treat them as their bunny and don't take their bilateral Trans-Tasman Trophy seriously because NZ hardly put any fight into it.
Now i'm starting to feel that Kiwis winning WTC was kinda due to flawed WTC system. They qualified into the finals despite not playing a single match away from home and Final was in England, so favorable condition for them. Result could have been very different if final was schedule in subcontinent or Caribbean.
Actually, the change of venues Could certainly be problematic for New Zealand. Now, we have to accept that they are the WTC champions. But now I think that South Africa is going to give them a good fight for their title and probably will also be able to win the championship in my opinion. But that's a long way to go, And yes currently, the
Kolapak system not being an issue, will also help the South Africans to form a better squad.
No problem whatsoever with them winning the WTC title but if we look at closely without any bias then all system looks dodgy, having said that rules are same for every team. Some got better deal out of it and some missed out the opportunity so its part of the game.
I doubt if NZ is going to qualify in this cycle, they already played 3 series and won only 2 matches. The best they can do is play spoiler role for other parties.
SA should fancy there chances for the finals as they bring their A game against Australia (another tough series). Pak is in strong position as they are playing in subcontinent only. Aus also looking strong but they are facing Pak, Ind and India in subcontinent, which is not easy task. SL could also surprise us if they successfully draw the upcoming series against India. India need to play quality cricket and win most of their remaining fixture (7 out of 9) if they want to play finals again.