3.00pm
BLOEMFONTEIN - Stephen Fleming has the cool self-assurance of a captain whose cricket team are well on track for their big Australian assignment after New Zealand's clinical dismissal of Zimbabwe here this morning.
Thanks to Nathan Astle's 13th one-day international century, New Zealand beat Zimbabwe in their World Cup Super Six match by six wickets with 16 balls to spare at a sweltering Goodyear Park.
Chasing 253 to win, Astle's 102 not out off 122 balls and a partnership of 121 with Chris Cairns saw the Black Caps home with little alarm on a dream batting pitch.
Aside from a horror final three overs of Zimbabwe's innings when Heath Streak and Sean Ervine flayed 62 runs off Chris Harris, Daniel Vettori and Andre Adams, it was business as usual for New Zealand who racked up their fifth straight win.
Only twice, in the 1982-83 home season and the 1992 World Cup, have New Zealand strung together more than five consecutive one-day victories - seven on each occasion.
To get win No 6 under the belt is no easy task - a clash with Ricky Ponting's rampant Australian side at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Fleming was doing his best to show little press conference emotion, but he gave the impression of being more than happy with the ship he was steering.
"We're not flashing neon lights, that's for sure, we're just quietly going about our business but the business is going well. It was efficient and pretty polished today," Fleming said.
"Australia are playing very well, but as we said before the South African game, that's what we're here for, to pit ourselves against the best.
"We've done that reasonably well over the last 12 months. Both teams have moved on, Australia's playing good cricket and we'll have to up the ante."
- NZPA
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