BLACKCAPS spinner Daniel Vettori says the team know they're in for a great battle this weekend when they take on the West Indies in the quarterfinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
The BLACKCAPS head into the match at Wellington Regional Stadium after an unbeaten run in the pool games.
Vettori has been at the heart of it all. The 35-year-old has been a revelation for the home side in the pool matches often taking key wickets or restricting the run rate in the crucial middle period of the innings.
In the three wicket win over Bangladesh, Vettori was the hero with the bat as he hit 16 off 10 balls to get New Zealand home.
The veteran of 18 years in the BLACKCAPS said the team is focused on keeping the winning formula the same as they approach the knockout stages.
“It is about keeping it as consistent as possible,” Vettori told a media scrum today.
“It is about doing the same thing all the time. That is something we have done throughout the World Cup and it has been the same this week with our scouting and training and hopefully that continues into the game. We have been playing well so we don’t want to change too much. If we can keep it calm and consistent that is the best way to approach a big game.”
The team has had one training this week in bitterly cold conditions yesterday at the Basin Reserve. They have a day off today ahead of a bigger workout tomorrow before they begin to taper in the lead-up to the Windies.
Vettori said there hasn’t been an extra edge in the camp; it’s just business as usual.
“Overall there is a real calmness from the management and that is led by Hess [Mike Hesson] and Brendon [McCullum] they are very consistent whether we win or lose, they have that same manner because that really works for the guys.”
Much has been made of the threat of West Indies batsman Chris Gayle. The 35-year-old is one of the most explosive batters in world cricket but Vettori stressed the visitors have match winners across the park.
“We go through all 15 of their players,” said Vettori in terms of the scouting.
“We know that they are a very dangerous side and they have lots of players who can be destructive. There are rarely any surprises in world cricket now but that just means you have to play better to do well.”
The BLACKCAPS head into the quarterfinal as the favourite but Vettori said their successful campaign so far counts for little when the first ball is bowled.
“That is the nature of the quarterfinals. It starts again and any team can have a good day and any team can have a bad day. That is the true test of a world champion – you have three knock out games coming up and if you can get through those you have done exceptionally well.”
He stopped short of suggesting that this was the best chance he felt the team had of making the ICC Cricket World Cup Final for the first time. They are taking one match at a time and keeping everything grounded.
“We are trying to live in that moment and we are feeling good about our team but you look at the other seven teams who are at the quarterfinal stage so I think no one is going to make a pre-emptive statement like that. Everyone knows how hard it is to get to the final game.”
As he comes to the final stages of his glittering ODI career for New Zealand, that includes being the first New Zealander to claim 300 ODI wickets, being part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, has been a real highlight.
“There is a real excitement around New Zealand. It is probably something I haven’t seen. Having a World Cup at home, people are really excited about that and the fact that people are really supporting us there is a little bit extra because of that.”
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: BLACKCAPS v West Indies 2pm 21 March, Wellington.
