New Zealand tend to lift in major tournaments

	Mark Richardson: 'Daniel Vettori the key for New Zealand'
Related Links Audio/Video: 'Vettori the key for New Zealand' Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: New Zealand

They're not the glamour boys of world cricket, but New Zealand have a habit of lifting their game in major tournaments. They are five-time World Cup semi-finalists, and despite being well down the ODI rankings, they reached the final of the Champions Trophy in 2009, losing to Australia when they couldn't stop Shane Watson's century. Since then they have lost Shane Bond to retirement, but retain many of the same personnel for the World Cup.

The departure of Bond has robbed them of the classiest fast bowler they have produced in recent years, and the pace attack won't scare many batting line-ups. But Daniel Vettori is a first-rate one-day spinner, which every team will need on the pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The top-order batting led by Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder is explosive but the depth of talent in their squad is one area of concern, compared to the more strongly-favoured sides.

New Zealand begin with a danger match against Kenya - all the associates will be desperate to perform in the last World Cup before the number of teams is pared back. They must also face the defending champions Australia and the co-hosts Sri Lanka in the group stage.

World Cup pedigree

For one of the smaller cricketing nations, New Zealand's record at World Cups is better than could reasonably be expected. They are the only team apart from Australia to make it past the first round in each of the last three World Cups, and have reached semi-finals at five of the nine tournaments, including the 2007 competition in the West Indies, where they lost to Sri Lanka. They are desperate to take the next step and play in a final.

Form Guide

New Zealand's recent form doesn't make for pleasant reading for their fans. They were eliminated in the league stage of the triangular series in Sri Lanka in August, and then headed to Bangladesh, where their embarrassing 4-0 defeat led to crisis talks back home. They were on the wrong end of another series whitewash in five games in India, meaning that in the past six months they've played 12 one-day internationals in the three host countries for a single victory. A 3-2 defeat at home at the hands of Pakistan hasn't done much to improve their confidence.

Expert Eye

Martin Crowe: "Bowling is their strength. Vettori has been the best-ranked ODI bowler for a few years, and Kyle Mills has also always been in the top 10; so has Jacob Oram despite constant injury problems. Tim Southee has shown nerve at the death, and Nathan McCullum has pedigree and pluck.

"It's not a vastly experienced batting side, and that is an issue. It's more of an impetuous Russian-roulette style batting line-up. They need to find some control somewhere and produce large scores."

Where they're likely to finish

Given their form on the subcontinent, New Zealand will be doing extremely well to reach the semi-finals again. A more likely scenario is that they'll drop out at the quarter-final stage.

Watchability

Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor make New Zealand's top order an attractive proposition. McCullum and Ryder provide the power, while Taylor adds the class. Throw in Jacob Oram and Scott Styris and this is a batting group capable of big totals, though their consistency is the concern.

Key Players

As the captain and best player in the team, Daniel Vettori is comfortably the most important man in New Zealand's World Cup campaign. Opposition batsmen are often content to see him off and attack the fast bowlers, but New Zealand are at their best when Vettori is also outsmarting batsmen and taking wickets. On the subcontinent pitches, he must use his own bowling as an attacking option. He is the only man in the squad to have been to three previous World Cups, although he did not play a game in 1999.

One of the most powerful strikers in the tournament, Brendon McCullum will carry a significant top-order burden for New Zealand. He can clear boundaries all around the ground, and is one of the more innovative batsmen in limited-overs cricket. Few men have been brave enough to scoop Shaun Tait over the wicketkeeper's head, but McCullum did it with great success during a Twenty20 international in Christchurch.

Ross Taylor is a class above several of his New Zealand batting colleagues. An average of 35.01 in a career approaching 100 matches, batting mostly at No. 4, is a world-class effort, and importantly he has shown promising signs in the subcontinent. Taylor's batting is marked by a mix of elegant, proper strokeplay, along with powerful slog-sweeps and risky aerial shots. He has also taken on more responsibility over the past year, captaining the side several times in Vettori's absence.

A century on his Test debut in Ahmedabad made Kane Williamson headline news in India, and he'll enjoy heading back there for his first World Cup. He also has a one-day hundred to his name in Bangladesh, so he clearly enjoys the conditions on the subcontinent. His play isn't flashy, but he's the sort of person who can bat long, and in a line-up featuring several stroke-makers, that's no bad thing.