KEY POINTS:
Scott Styris has dubbed this year's World Cup squad New Zealand's best and says the team will be disappointed if they cannot push on to claim a historic first title.
Speaking as South Africa were confirming their place in the semifinals at the expense of England, New Zealand's
prolific right-hander said this team were even better than the 1992 squad.
Pakistan eventually derailed the 1992 campaign in the semifinals, after a tournament in which players such as Martin Crowe, Mark Greatbatch, Ken Rutherford and Dipak Patel starred - not to mention the tactically astute coach, Warren Lees.
However Styris, whose side will square off against Australia on Saturday before travelling to Jamaica for their semifinal with Sri Lanka, said there was, on this occasion, a bigger expectation about New Zealand, mainly because people thought they had a better chance.
"I think this team would be considered New Zealand's first genuine opportunity to win the tournament.
"If we play well we know we're a good enough side to win it, whereas in the past, a semifinals finish has probably represented a fair result.
"But [with] this team if we hadn't made the semis it would have been a failure, and now we'll be judged on whether we can go on to win that match, and the final.
"If we win, good, but if we lose it'll be a disappointment and that's probably the first time a New Zealand team's been in that position."
New Zealand's 1992 campaign was based on exploiting fearfully low and slow pitches through Patel's spin and the almost inert medium pace of Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen and Rod Latham, and came within a very young Inzamam-ul-Haq of qualifying for the final.
The similarities have been apparent at the 2007 tournament, much of which has been contested on pitches that have been newly-lain and pedestrian slow, allowing part-time bowlers such as Styris and Craig McMillan to shine.
"I was pretty young in'92 but I remember the tournament gripping New Zealand and the country getting in behind it big time," Styris said.
"There are some similarities. New Zealand pitches in those days were slow and low, which is what we're finding here. But the game's moved forward from then and this team is very adaptable; we can cope with different challenges."
The exceptions to the lifeless pitches found so far in St Lucia, Antigua, Guyana and Grenada are likely to be Sabina Park in Jamaica and Kensington Oval in Barbados, where New Zealand will play the semifinal and, if successful, their final.
Before that, however, they'll tackle Australia on Saturday at the Grenada National Stadium in what will be the first meeting of the two teams since New Zealand swept the Chappell-Hadlee Series 3-0.
With run-rate, rather than head-to-head results, providing the tie-breaker for any teams equal on points, not even a New Zealand win will prevent Australia from topping their group.
Styris scotched suggestions that Saturday's game was irrelevant.
"It's not meaningless for us and I don't think it will be for them [Australia] either," he said.
"I'm sure they're still smarting a bit from the 3-0 result in New Zealand and that they'll come out hard after us.
"They always do anyway, but I think they will be particularly keen this time after the way the Chappell-Hadlee Series went. So we need to be on our game and playing well."
The days of the Australians intimidating the New Zealanders with their confidence, aggression, and quality of performance, were well gone.
New Zealand had played Australia seven times since January and the aura of invincibility had disappeared, after the Chappell-Hadlee Series.
"They bring the best out of us ... We haven't let the foot off the throat."
SEMIFINALS
*New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Kingston, Wednesday
*South Africa v Australia, St Lucia, Thursday
FINAL
*Barbados, April 29
