Cricket: It's all in their own hands

By RICHARD BOOCK

If Brendon McCullum is right about New Zealand playing their best cricket when under pressure, then they should be poised to play the game of their lives against India tonight.

Unless a near-miracle happens and Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka at East London tomorrow, New Zealand will crash out of the World Cup if they cannot subdue the in-form Indians at Centurion, venue of possibly the flattest batting pitch in the world.

This is pressure, virtual quarter-final pressure; in that if New Zealand should carry the day, their next trip will be to Port Elizabeth for the semifinal showdown against Australia. If they don't, it will be to Johannesburg Airport for the long-haul flight home.

McCullum may not have been in the national side for long but he knows his recent history, and was quick to point out that New Zealand had twice won series-deciding one-dayers in recent seasons - against Pakistan and England.

He was also mindful that the side had been teetering on the edge for most of this tournament and had grown familiar with the tension that came with sudden-death campaigns, not to mention the threat of perceived failure.

"We're under the pump again but it seems we play some of our best cricket when we're under the cosh so there's a lot of confidence as well," McCullum said after practice yesterday.

"It's a tough time for everyone because of the nature of the contest, but I feel we're good enough to make it through - the side's played well when things have been desperate, and this is about as desperate as it gets."

An emerging success story behind the stumps, McCullum has quietly improved his standing during this tournament with some deft glovework; his presence helping set a tempo in the field that has been matched only by Australia.

Because the New Zealand top-order had been reasonably successful through the first round, he - like Jacob Oram - was lacking a decent outing with the bat, and it showed during Wednesday's capitulation against Australia.

Trapped in front by a 150km/h Brett Lee yorker, the young Otago gloveman was bitterly disappointed at not taking his opportunity, as he had been working overtime on his batting and was looking forward to demonstrating some form.

"Not having had a bat was a bit of a problem, to be honest," he said.

"But it's a tough one.

"The top order's being going pretty well and even in the games against Bangladesh and Canada, there was a lot of pressure on us to improve our run-rate. So there weren't any chances to rotate.

"I was a bit hacked off about not taking my chance [against Australia]. I've worked pretty hard on my batting over here - the facilities are great, and I wanted to make the most of it."

Much has been made this week about the threat of the Indian batsmen on such a true surface, but McCullum was adamant that New Zealand also played far better cricket on "belters", rather than on the slow, low wickets of the past.

He suggested the days of New Zealand prospering on sluggish wickets were long gone, and that this team were far better equipped to square off against quality opposition on the best batting pitches available.

"Just quietly, I think we play far better on quicker wickets - both in the field and when we're batting. We've got the players to cash in on those sorts of tracks and I definitely think we bat best at places like Centurion."

As for the team for tonight, the selectors have put themselves in a difficult position, having dropped Craig McMillan for Lou Vincent and persevered with Andre Adams.

Going on his form at Port Elizabeth, Vincent looked even more unlikely than McMillan in terms of posting a sizeable score but the selectors will probably be loath to switch them back, in case the move is viewed as inconsistency.

But the question of Adams is a moot point, especially as Daryl Tuffey has a proven track record against batsmen such as Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, and has never been known to bowl beamers or double-bouncers.

Not in the same innings, anyway.

India, who must now know Centurion like the back of their hand, could be tempted to make a couple of changes on the grounds that they've already qualified for the top four and, whatever the result, will be heading to Durban for the second semi on Thursday.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Mathew Sinclair, Lou Vincent.

India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Parthiv Patel, Sanjay Bangar, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar.


Head to head

The last 10 ODI results

Jan 14 2003, Hamilton: New Zealand won by 6 wickets

Jan 11 2003, Auckland: India won by 1 wicket

Jan 8 2003, Wellington: India won by 2 wickets

Jan 4 2003, Queenstown: New Zealand won by 7 wickets

Jan 1 2003, Christchurch: New Zealand won by 5 wickets

Dec 29 2002, Napier: New Zealand won by 35 runs

Dec 26 2002, Auckland: New Zealand won by 3 wickets

Aug 2 2001, Colombo: India won by 7 wickets

July 26 2001, Colombo: New Zealand won by 67 runs

July 20 2001, Colombo: New Zealand won by 84 runs

Total matches played: 68

India won 33, New Zealand won 32, no result: 3

World Cup schedule

Points table