Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has claimed the Black Caps are the best “pound for pound” team in the world.

Speaking with former English cricketers Phil Tufnell, David Lloyd and Sir Alastair Cook on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Vaughan felt New Zealand were a team that goes above and beyond in all formats of the game.

“[The] New Zealand cricket team are, for what they have in terms of the pathway programmes in New Zealand, the amount of people that they’ve got to pick, they’ve got to be pound for pound the best team in the world, haven’t they?” Vaughan said.

The former England captain, the first to take his team to an Ashes series victory in a generation, felt the Black Caps play to a high standard across all formats of the game.

“I know they’re not winning major, but they’re always there.”

Since 2015, the Black Caps have won a World Test Championship, been World Cup runners-up twice, runners-up in the 2021 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy runners-up in 2025.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said the Black Caps could be the best "pound for pound" cricket team in the world. Photo / Photosport

Vaughan felt the gap in funding and facilities between what English players receive showed how New Zealand was going above and beyond in world cricket.

“Look at what we’ve got in this country now, all our pathway programmes, everything that happens within English cricket academies.

“You know, our Lions team, suddenly they’ve been to Australia this winter, now go to the UAE.

“The amount of facilities there for our players to improve, which I’m guessing New Zealand don’t get, and the expense that we have at the ECB to be able to afford that. The Kiwis have got to be [the best pound for pound team], haven’t they?”

New Zealand A’s last tour was in South Africa and ran from August 30 to September 17, winning one of the three ODIs and one of the two unofficial test matches.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said the Black Caps might be the best "pound for pound" team in world cricket. Photo / Photosport

David Lloyd said the overall system in New Zealand is “uncomplicated” because of a small number of teams, while he felt, based on past experiences, the overall standard of club cricket in the country was high due to international players regularly featuring.

The Black Caps are set to play England in the T20 Cricket World Cup on February 28 and will begin a three-test tour of England in June.