Cricket: We fear no-one, says Cairns

4.00pm - by MARK GEENTY

PORT ELIZABETH - Star cricket allrounder Chris Cairns has again questioned Australia's apparent invincibility and says New Zealand are far improved on what they were across the Tasman last summer.

Cairns was the centre of attention yesterday as the large Australian and local media contingents surrounded him ahead of one of the highlight matches of the World Cup tomorrow (9pm NZDT).

If New Zealand win they are still on target to finish third in the Super Six and thereby avoid a semifinal against Australia, but if they lose they must beat India on Friday to remain in the hunt for the top four.

Cairns, whose polished effort of two for 16 off four overs and 54 with the bat against Zimbabwe had him primed for tomorrow, said Australia's unbeaten record wasn't insurmountable.

"They're good but everybody has a chink. We have to expose it and we've got plans to do that," Cairns said.

"We don't fear them, we respect them, and we just have to play good cricket. That's all that will beat them, no secrets, no keys.

"They have this mystique around them, and it's how far you let them get away in a game. You can't start on the back foot, you've got to be aggressive from ball one."

New Zealand found that in last year's VB Series in Australia when Shane Bond, who bowled his fastest recorded delivery of 154kmh against Zimbabwe on Saturday, demolished Australia's top order as the Black Caps won the tactical battle in three matches out of four.

Cairns also questioned the captaincy of Ricky Ponting, who only took over last year from Steve Waugh.

"The guy's been in the job five minutes, he's paving a good record but he's a long way off being considered a great captain. Stephen Fleming's a great captain, he's got the record," Cairns said.

"I've never played against him as captain and I'm yet to see what he's capable of. I'll make my judgements afterwards."

But for all the talk, Australia remain firm favourites, having won seven straight World Cup matches and riding a huge wave of confidence.

The one thing in New Zealand's favour is the venue -- the end of season St George's Park pitch which was getting ever slower and nearly proved Australia's undoing against England a week ago.

The southwesterly gale which nearly lifted the players' bags off the airport tarmac on arrival yesterday also gave the appealing coastal city a Wellington feel.

Australia will be without injured speedster Jason Gillespie but have demolished opposition batting line-ups through Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Andy Bichel.

Their batting is also firing at the top through Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Ponting, with Bond, Andre Adams and the in-form Jacob Oram charged with knocking them over.

Hayden though was quick to concede that New Zealand were one of their trickiest opponents.

"We had our hands full in the VB Series, and I think we were a bit hurt by that, so in the Champions Trophy we looked to make amends," Hayden said.

"They tend to take the pace off the ball which is obviously a threat to us and we're playing in low, slow conditions which we saw against England.

"I think we are going to have to be on top of our game."

New Zealand have won three of the last five clashes between the sides, with the previous match a 164-run hiding by Australia in Colombo in September.

Cairns though was adamant the side were playing as well as ever, having won their fifth straight match on Saturday against Zimbabwe.

Only twice have New Zealand won more than five straight, in the 1982-83 home season and in the 1992 World Cup.

"We're a bit more aggressive now compared to Australia last year, with Jacob Oram in the side it's given us another dimension with wicket-taking ability," Cairns said.

"Our batting is probably more stable, the captain's leading from the front which is a huge bonus, and it means everyone else lifts a notch as well. He's a lot more aggressive."

Cairns also bemoaned the absence of disgraced legspinner Shane Warne, his regular sparring partner, and said left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg "would come under scrutiny".

Both sides are likely to front with unchanged teams, with Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds again ruled out with a groin strain.

Likely teams:

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Andre Adams, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Glenn McGrath.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka), Steve Bucknor (West Indies). Third umpire: Brian Jerling (South Africa).

- NZPA