Riding the wave

Whichever gauge the New Zealand team is measured by this year, their achievements exceeded expectations in most capacities. The highlights reel reads like the credits to Lord of the Rings.

They made their first World Cup final in 11 attempts; equalled the New Zealand record for 13 undefeated Tests at home; claimed the No. 1 Test batsman (Kane Williamson) and No. 2 Test bowler (Trent Boult) at times; won their first Test in England since 1999 and drew that series 1-1 to complete an unprecedented seven undefeated series; and bookended the year with consecutive 2-0 Test series defeats of Sri Lanka.

Williamson is a man of acute modesty but his performances spoke for him. They prompted Martin Crowe to say, "We have seen the dawn of probably our greatest ever batsman." He should know.

Williamson scored the most Test runs (1172 in 16 innings at 90.15) and centuries (five) in a calendar year by a New Zealander. With 13 centuries before turning 26, he joined the select group of Sachin Tendulkar, Don Bradman, Alastair Cook and Garry Sobers to have scored as many or more by the same age. His 2633 runs left him 235 adrift of Kumar Sangakkara's annual record aggregate across all international formats with three ODIs to come.

The quality rather than quantity of runs made Williamson's contribution special. He played with technical perfection, inspiring the country's fans. His sangfroid six to win the World Cup pool match against Australia at Eden Park, with one wicket in hand, triggered euphoria.

Other tournament performances supported that feat, such as Boult's 5 for 27 in the same match, Tim Southee's best New Zealand ODI bowling figures of 7 for 33 to dominate England, Martin Guptill's 237 not out against West Indies - the highest score by a batsman in a World Cup, and the "Air Vettori" by New Zealand's greatest spinner to catch Marlon Samuels at third man in the same game.

The biggest playing blips came in three areas. New Zealand were overawed and underwhelming in their maiden World Cup final appearance, limping to 183 in 45 overs.

Nine of their players were involved in IPL squads but it meant that a number of them received minimal first-class game time before the England tour. New Zealand performed strongly in the first innings at Lord's but their 523 turned out to be their highest score in a Test they ended up losing. They rebounded to win the second, courtesy BJ Watling's century, the first by a New Zealander in a Headingley Test.

Preparation also proved a struggle for the Australia tour. One surface in Blacktown, Sydney, looked more like something Apollo XI might have faced in the moon landing.

Subsequently New Zealand looked short of match practice in Brisbane, aside from Williamson's revered 140. The draw in Perth added to the statistical annals - Ross Taylor's 290 was the highest Test score by a visitor to Australia. New Zealand agreed to play the inaugural day-night Test, in that series, as the plans to recapture a fan base and eke out territory in the Asian evening broadcast market took hold. A collective purse of A$400,000 for the series soothed any player pain arising out of their loss.

The onus is on this generation to build a dynasty, which New Zealand can never claim to have had, despite strong eras but false dawns in the 1980s and from 1999 through 2003. The next few years will reveal whether the systems put in place by the coach, Mike Hesson, and soon-to-be retired captain Brendon McCullum unlock sustained success.

High point
A limited-overs achievement rarely trumps everything Test-related in a calendar year but Grant Elliott's six against South Africa to take New Zealand to their first World Cup final encapsulated everything that glowed about the hosts' game.Elliott, born in South Africa but a proud bona fide Kiwi, belted Dale Steyn, the world's premier pace bowler, into the stands to triumph with a ball to spare. The wallop secured immortal status, as the team chased 298 in a rain-interrupted game reduced to 43 overs. Elliott even had the grace to stretch out a hand to Steyn who lay prone in the aftermath. "Four-wicket win" seemed the ultimate euphemism.

Low point
The Chris Cairns perjury trial, in which the defendant was found not guilty in a British Crown Court, sullied the New Zealand game regardless. The former allrounder always described match-fixing allegations against him as "despicable lies". A host of New Zealand's best from the previous generation - and Brendon McCullum - faced the judicial microscope. Lou Vincent is the only New Zealand player to admit to match-fixing, but the overriding theme was that New Zealanders are as vulnerable as anyone to the practice.

New kid on the block
With Vettori's official retirement after a stellar World Cup, 23-year-old Mitchell Santner has emerged as the heir apparent among spinning allrounders. Big bats, smaller boundaries and extensive fielding restrictions hardly created a nurturing environment in his first ODI series, against England, but he persevered.

Santner unleashes crisp drives, flights the ball with drift and fields athletically. He's reserved, articulate, wears his cap reverse brim-style and appears to refer to team-mates exclusively by surname.

He was an Australian target walking out to bat on debut in the Adelaide Test. Nathan Lyon asked, "Are you nervous?" Santner responded, "Ah, yeah", which stopped the conversation. He was New Zealand's top run scorer in the match.

What 2016 holds
Brendon McCullum's impending retirement after the Australia home series in February will resonate. If fit, he will become the first of over 2800 Test players to play 100 in succession from debut. Reminiscences will abound. Williamson is the logical replacement as captain and will take the job, provided it does not unduly affect his batting.

The Test arena can be siphoned into twin pioneering objectives: win in South Africa and India. Those are the only Test-playing countries where New Zealand have never won a series.

The resumption of the Chappell-Hadlee series in February will consume most one-day international interest; a maiden world title in any limited-overs form (unless you count the 2000 ICC Knockout trophy in Nairobi) will be the objective at the World T20 in March.