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Kiwis need be tested to prepare for final push

MUMBAI - New Zealand’s path through the round-robin qualifying round to the World Cup quarter-finals has been almost been ridiculously smooth and easy.

Apart from a seven-wicket defeat by Australia, Daniel Vettori’s men have barely shifted past second gear in beating Group A rivals Kenya, Zimbabwe and then Canada on Sunday.

Only against Pakistan were they involved in anything that could be described as a close match and even then they eventually won at a canter with 110 runs to spare.

While India, South Africa and England have been pushed to their very limits in some Group B thrillers, the Black Caps’ main headache seems to have been how to spend their extra free time with two very truncated days thanks to 10-wicket wins over the two African teams.

True, they have their fair share of injury worries with skipper and frontline spinner Vettori (knee) and paceman Kyle Mills (thigh) both in doubt for their final group game against Sri Lanka on Friday.

But otherwise there is barely a cloud on the horizon for a team with most of their key players, especially opener Brendon McCullum and middle-order batsman Ross Taylor, in sublime nick.

The problem for New Zealand is that they have been this way before, bullying lesser teams on the way to the final stages of the tournament before slipping up when the really high-tension tests come up.

Five times they have reached the semi-finals — and five times they have come up short of reaching the showpiece game.

PRESSURISED TESTS

McCullum, who made a chanceless 101 in Sunday’s 97-run victory over Canada at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, was asked if the lack of serious tests were a drawback for the latter stages.

He denied that their nerve had not yet been properly tested.

“We got beaten by Australia who played very well against us. We came up too against Pakistan who are considered one of the teams who are capable of winning the World Cup as well and we absorbed some pressure through some key moments,” he said.

“That was a key victory for us.”

He emphasised too that lessons had been learned even in straightforward wins like Sunday’s against the North Americans.

“We were able to play to the roles that we are trying to play to and execute the kind of score (358-6) that we are hoping to achieve.

“Any time you win, any time you perform well, any time you get some confidence out of a game that certainly helps. We’ll soon find out what we’re capable of come quarter-final time.

“Before then we’ve got a very, very important game against Sri Lanka which is going to absorb most of our focus.”

For once, McCullum and co can be excused for hoping their opposition give them a very serious run for their money.