New Zealand coach expects Cup upsets so is not taking minnows lightly in Dunedin.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson is tipping upsets during the World Cup - and that's part of the reason he slightly bristled at a description of tomorrow's opponents Scotland.
The preparatory week leading up to the start of the cup produced some eyebrow-raising performances - always with the codicil thatthey were practice days.
Even so, Hesson expects surprises in the group stage of the cup.
"If sides take any other side lightly they can get turned over," he said. "I think there'll be a number of upsets in this tournament."
When asked whether the Scots represented a chance for some rotating and tinkering ahead of perceived bigger games coming up against England and Australia, Hesson demurred.
"We don't define them as lesser games," he said. "Scotland smashed Ireland [recently] and have put a lot of other sides under pressure. We will respect Scotland as much as we do every other team."
That said, there may be changes for tomorrow, once players' aches and pains have been assessed.
With three games in seven days it makes no sense to flog players.
Expect Nathan McCullum to replace Dan Vettori as the sole spinner to play Scotland, for example. Speedster Adam Milne, with England in Wellington on Friday in mind, will probably get a day off as well.
However, Hesson also knows that the old New Zealand default position of easing themselves under the radar isn't going to work this time.
"I don't think we can do that. We've performed well for a while, so people have taken notice of our performances. If we keep performing well we will get attention."
New Zealand were "pretty chuffed" not only at winning their first group game against Sri Lanka by 98 runs in Christchurch on Saturday, but also by the manner of the victory.
Celebrations had been "pretty muted" though after a highly emotional day.
"We've had about 27 games building up to this game so it's been fairly draining. The guys are pretty chuffed at the fact we put up a performance we can be proud of."
The Scots and their coach, former New Zealand player and Northern Districts stalwart Grant Bradburn, had their first look at University Oval yesterday during a full practice session.
They're at home in the Edinburgh of the south. Scottish flags have been conspicuous in Dunedin and captain Preston Mommsen - South African-born but a longtime resident of Scotland - said his players were delighted with the location for two of their group games (they also have a clutch game against Afghanistan in Dunedin on February 26).
They came two runs short of beating New Zealand at Lincoln in October on an early-season visit, 263 shading 262, which, while a practice game, gave the Scots a huge fillip.
