Cricket: Kyle Mills happily caught up in World Cup fever

Black Caps Kyle Mills looks angry at a call during a Black Caps against West Indies one-day international cricket match in Hamilton. Photo / Christine Cornege

The tournament starts in 11 days and fans are thinking of little else.

Kyle Mills made an observation yesterday which tallies with the fervour beginning to sweep the country with the Cricket World Cup 11 days away.

"You definitely sense it. When you jump into a taxi or get bread at the dairy, people are talking cricket and that's great. I think it helps we've put together some good performances. People like to follow winners."

He's right on all counts. The World Cup is omnipresent and there are contrasting views on how the tournament will run, how it will be perceived, who will win it and who should (and shouldn't) be in the New Zealand team.

Part of that is driven by 1992 sentimentality; another part is the goodwill generated by the current team.

Passion is being espoused for the event and fans should rejoice. Pre-season Super Rugby stories, many of which tend to involve the tearing/straining/pulling of hamstrings/calves/groins, but not necessarily in that order, are assuming a more proportional place in the news as cricket dominates.

With passion comes debate which, again, indicates the event is being embraced. Most, predictably, comes from those ardently for or implacably opposed to certain selections: Martin Guptill should be dropped/"Marty Two-toes" will win New Zealand the World Cup; Grant Elliott's an appalling selection/"Grunter" is a legend; [insert Mills/Daniel Vettori here] is too old/[insert Mills/Vettori here] has invaluable experience.

The reality of each assertion is that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but debate is healthy and fuelling a crescendo of interest in the sport.

All of which leads to what can be expected today from a New Zealand side on the cusp of taking a fourth ODI series win in the last five, or sixth in the last 11 since Brendon McCullum assumed the captaincy.

Kane Williamson appeared poised to return from his shoulder injury after batting and bowling freely in the nets yesterday. A decision will be made this morning on how he recovers.

Forecast rain meant an outdoor practice or a gym session were options yesterday. All pace bowlers except Mills opted for the latter.

After the first Pakistan ODI, Hesson said Adam Milne would be fine to back-up today. McLean Park's short square boundaries could be the perfect test for his accuracy.

Hesson also indicated a lack of test cricket against Sri Lanka meant Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi and Guptill could continue to play without a break, although with Tom Latham still needing game time ahead of the Cup it wouldn't surprise if room was made for him in the top order. Latham will play at least one of the warm-up games as wicketkeeper.

As for Mills, he was revelling in returning to form with two for 29 on Saturday, but appreciated the value of rotation with nine games in 24 days.

"I thought I had my control in the last game. I was going well, keeping it nice and tight.

"When you get an opportunity you have to cement it. We're good mates [in the pace bowling quintet] but it creates a healthy rivalry.

"It leaves a headache for Brendon [McCullum] and Hess [Hesson] having to come up with the right combination between quick bowlers, left-armers ... and an old bugger as well."

3 things about the final game

Kane's fit
Kane Williamson trained fully after a shoulder injury.

Training splits
New Zealand had a split outdoor practice/gym session training.

Cup incentive
1992 World Cup-winner and Pakistan assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed said the team is being fuelled by memories of the previous tournament as motivation.

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