Cricket World Cup: NZ stick to getting the house in order

If swashbuckling Windies batsman Chris Gayle plays well, he can bring down any team. Photo / Getty Images

Windies can produce bite as spectre of sudden death looms in World Cup.

New Zealand insist they'll respect the West Indies, do their due diligence, but much of their time this week will be making sure their game is in order.

It was not until Sunday night that New Zealand had their World Cup quarter-final opponents confirmed for Saturday night at Wellington's Cake Tin.

No one's kidding themselves that this West Indies side is fit to lace the boots of some of the great sides from the Caribbean. Still, they do have matchwinners and classy players. Their problem seems to be gelling to put together a strong collective performance.

Set that against the fact this is a one-off. Strange things happen in that scenario. The teams are playing for all the marbles, and the winners will do again next week, and if things go particularly well, once more after that at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29.

"Anything in the past is quickly forgotten," New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson said yesterday. "It's important we prepare well, focus on ourselves and our skill sets and look to execute what we do."

Which is not to say they won't do extensive scouting on their opponents this week.

Bludgeoning opener Chris Gayle, who missed the final group game against the United Arab Emirates in Napier on Sunday with an injury, will occupy some of their time, but certainly not all of it.

The charismatic Jamaican clobbered a cup-high 215 against Zimbabwe on February 24, but has done little else. That's his way these days, as hot and cold as a kettle.

"Obviously everyone knows what Chris Gayle can do. He's one of the biggest matchwinners in world cricket and it's important we put a little bit of focus on him.

"When he plays well he takes down any team in the world. But it's still the nature of cricket that if you bowl well you can get anyone out.

"We have players that are world class as well and can take games away. It's going to be an exciting game between teams full of matchwinners and a good balance of players."

The West Indies have batsmen of quality such as Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons, while their seam attack of captain Jason Holder and Jerome Taylor - 14 wickets at 18.3 apiece in the tournament - is handy, and Andre Russell and Darren Sammy are dangerous hitters, and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin a batsman with six international centuries to his name.

Williamson believes it is important that New Zealand look to play with freedom and the knowledge that in high pressure situations they have the self belief to express their skills.

He admitted New Zealand will need to be on guard for those moments which don't fall their way.

"Things don't always happen the way you want them to. It's been going well recently and going into the quarter-finals we certainly aren't expecting everything to fall into place. We need to keep rolling with slightly different momentum shifts that might happen and stay calm."

The illness which ran through the side in the leadup to their final pool game against Bangladesh last Friday has cleared up, leaving confirmation that speedster Adam Milne's right shoulder is sufficiently mended for the quarter-final as the only area to be signed off.

England's Richard Kettleborough and Bruce Oxenford of Australia will umpire the New Zealand-West Indies quarter-final.

3 things to watch out for

Vulnerable

If Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa are the four more favoured teams this week, which of them is most vulnerable to a quarter-final defeat?

Fitness test
You might not have had him in your initial cup XI, but how much importance do you now attach to Adam Milne's fitness to face the West Indies?

How significant a part will pressure play in Wellington?
That probably depends on whether New Zealand can get an early grip on the contest. Be sure running it tight won't be in the game strategy.

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