AFP, Wellington :
New Zealand, by their own admission, face their first true test of the World Cup in their quarter-final against the West Indies on Saturday after emerging from pool play unbeaten.
Never mind that their nail-biting victory over Australia was settled with an ice-cool Kane Williamson six when New Zealand were down to their last wicket.
They had the safety net then of knowing a loss would not knock them out of the tournament.
Now, for the first time, they face must-win pressure, with added home-town expectation weighing heavily on them to be the first New Zealand side to lift the trophy, or to at least make the final.
Spinner Dan Vettori, a veteran of five World Cup campaigns, described the quarter-finals as “where it really starts”.
Form favours New Zealand.
Under Brendon McCullum’s aggressive leadership, the swing of new-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult and the guile of Vettori have snared the best of batsmen.
Energetic fielding has trimmed run rates and with the bat, McCullum and Williamson at the top of the order are seldom out of the runs.
Victories over Australia, Scotland and Bangladesh were close as New Zealand banked on their all-or-nothing approach getting them through and refused to slow the pace and play for safety.
The unpredictable West Indies, meanwhile, completed pool play with a three-win, three-loss record and only scraped into the playoffs courtesy of a superior run rate over Ireland.
Their high points were scattered, with the enigmatic Chris Gayle turning on the power to smack 215 against Zimbabwe while his other four innings produced 64 runs in total.
Young skipper Jason Holder took 4-27 against United Arab Emirates but went for more than 10 an over when they were thumped by South Africa who scored 408-5 and rolled the West Indies for 151.
But Vettori dismissed the relevance of pool form when it came to the play-offs.
“All the teams that eventually make it have got match winners. So you can’t sit back and say a team’s not in form or haven’t played well because you go into it thinking that a team is going to play their best.”
The West Indies have already tasted must-win tension and survived when anything less than a comprehensive win over UAE in their final pool match could have put the former two-times champions on an early flight home.
New Zealand have confirmed fast bowler Adam Milne has recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out of their last game against Bangladesh and they are likely to field the same XI who appeared in their first five games.
The West Indies believe Gayle will be fit to play after missing their last outing with a flareup of a back injury but there were question marks over the rest of their line up.
Late arrival Johnson Charles, the batting star of their crucial win over UAE with 55, has staked his claim to join Gayle in the opening partnership while the solid Lendl Simmons has been suggested as a candidate to move up the order as an anchor should Gayle produce his fireworks.
New Zealand, by their own admission, face their first true test of the World Cup in their quarter-final against the West Indies on Saturday after emerging from pool play unbeaten.
Never mind that their nail-biting victory over Australia was settled with an ice-cool Kane Williamson six when New Zealand were down to their last wicket.
They had the safety net then of knowing a loss would not knock them out of the tournament.
Now, for the first time, they face must-win pressure, with added home-town expectation weighing heavily on them to be the first New Zealand side to lift the trophy, or to at least make the final.
Spinner Dan Vettori, a veteran of five World Cup campaigns, described the quarter-finals as “where it really starts”.
Form favours New Zealand.
Under Brendon McCullum’s aggressive leadership, the swing of new-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult and the guile of Vettori have snared the best of batsmen.
Energetic fielding has trimmed run rates and with the bat, McCullum and Williamson at the top of the order are seldom out of the runs.
Victories over Australia, Scotland and Bangladesh were close as New Zealand banked on their all-or-nothing approach getting them through and refused to slow the pace and play for safety.
The unpredictable West Indies, meanwhile, completed pool play with a three-win, three-loss record and only scraped into the playoffs courtesy of a superior run rate over Ireland.
Their high points were scattered, with the enigmatic Chris Gayle turning on the power to smack 215 against Zimbabwe while his other four innings produced 64 runs in total.
Young skipper Jason Holder took 4-27 against United Arab Emirates but went for more than 10 an over when they were thumped by South Africa who scored 408-5 and rolled the West Indies for 151.
But Vettori dismissed the relevance of pool form when it came to the play-offs.
“All the teams that eventually make it have got match winners. So you can’t sit back and say a team’s not in form or haven’t played well because you go into it thinking that a team is going to play their best.”
The West Indies have already tasted must-win tension and survived when anything less than a comprehensive win over UAE in their final pool match could have put the former two-times champions on an early flight home.
New Zealand have confirmed fast bowler Adam Milne has recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out of their last game against Bangladesh and they are likely to field the same XI who appeared in their first five games.
The West Indies believe Gayle will be fit to play after missing their last outing with a flareup of a back injury but there were question marks over the rest of their line up.
Late arrival Johnson Charles, the batting star of their crucial win over UAE with 55, has staked his claim to join Gayle in the opening partnership while the solid Lendl Simmons has been suggested as a candidate to move up the order as an anchor should Gayle produce his fireworks.
