Cricket: Black Caps wary of US rookies

New Zealand received not one but two wake-up calls yesterday after completing their preparations for tonight's Champions Trophy opener against the United States.

The side who won the title four years ago in Nairobi were beaten by 12 runs in a practice match by Sri Lanka, having been bowled out for 159 on a club pitch in Middlesex.

But possibly of more interest was the performance of the rookie United States side, who announced their readiness for the tournament by successfully chasing down Zimbabwe's 270 in 48 overs.

New Zealand are expected to beat the US easily in the history-making match at the Oval - the Americans' first ODI - but coach John Bracewell has already described his opponents as an enormous banana skin, and a potential embarrassment for any side who underestimate them.

And he said yesterday's effort against an admittedly-weak Zimbabwe side only reinforced how dangerous the US could be if they gained an upper hand and were able to exert some pressure.

International cricket was littered with the wreakages of teams who had been expected to beat their unfancied opponents at a canter, but were instead caught unawares by a better-performing team on the day.

Bracewell pointed to Kenya's win over Sri Lanka at last year's World Cup in South Africa as a perfect example of an unfashionable side coming up trumps against all odds and upsetting a genuine title contender.

"I'm not overly concerned about the result against Sri Lanka, because it was a very informal match.

"Sri Lanka played all 14 of their squad members and we just played 11, and the pitch conditions weren't too flash either.

"But the United States' effort against Zimbabwe was a bit of an attention-getter for our guys," he said.

"It just goes to show that you can't take any side lightly, and this one can obviously play some useful cricket."

New Zealand, who rested Ian Butler, Craig McMillan and Michael Papps for the 50-over game, bowled tidily to restrict Sri Lanka to 171 for nine, leaving Bracewell pleased with the efforts of Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram.

However, whatever the difficulties experienced by the Sri Lankan batsman, the New Zealanders had even more problems later in the day, and especially when their opponents turned the screws with some searching spin bowling.

"It was like the North East Valley club pitch," Bracewell said in a reference to his former playing days in Dunedin.

"The Sri Lankans actually turned it square and made it almost impossible for us later on, but we had plenty to take out of the game.

"I doubt that either side would have been happy with their batting, but on the other hand we both had reasonably good days at the bowling crease, and I was pretty satisfied with the workout."

The main concern for the New Zealanders as they approach tonight's match is the health of fast-bowler Ian Butler, who is battling influenza and returned to the team hotel midway through yesterday's game.

Another setback for the team was the announcement that manager Lindsay Crocker would be returning home for health reasons as soon as possible.

A New Zealand Cricket spokesman said yesterday that Crocker had been forced to spend time in hospital during the tour.

New Zealand A manager Ross Dykes has left South Africa to fill in for Crocker at the tournament.