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Guyana: A confident New Zealand will be eyeing a Super Eight berth when they take on Zimbabwe in a Group B match of ICC World Twenty20 at the Providence stadium here Tuesday.
The Black Caps pulled off a thrilling two-wicket win with a ball to spare against Sri Lanka in their opening match Saturday and they would be eager to qualify for the next round.
New Zealand strike bowler Shane Bond said it is unlikely that they will tinker with the lineup that clinched a victory in the opening match. Bond, however, said his side is far from being complacent against Zimbabwe.
"In this sort of format, the shorter it is, the more even it gets, so I think there are no favourites in the tournament," he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.
I suppose we will be fielding the same team (to the one that beat Sri Lanka) as it is a must-win game for us. You want to carry momentum forward into the next stage, so I expect similar lineup to the first game.
Bond, who took two for 35 against Sri Lanka, is well aware of Zimbabwe's ability to create upsets, having already beaten Australia and defending champions Pakistan in the warm-up matches last week.
Referring to all-rounder Andy Blignauht's return to the side after five years, Bond said Zimbabwe have a lot of experienced players back in the side.
They are an experienced team that's been together for a long time so in this format they are going to be very tough and we have to show them due respect.
The low and slow pitches in the Caribbean will force Black Caps to make the most of their spin options.
In the warm up matches, Zimbabwe opened their bowling with off-spinner and captain Prosper Utseya and orthodox left-arm spinner Ray Price against Australia. Against Pakistan, they opened with legspinner Graeme Cremer and another offie, Greg Lamb, who were successful. But they have lost rain hit day against Sri Lanka on Monday.
Jacob Oram was quiet in the lead-up to the tournament after being struck by more untimely injuries, but he has roared back over the past week. While Nathan McCullum gained the glory against Sri Lanka, it was Oram's two sixes off Ajantha Mendis in the 17th over that raced his team forward.
Elton Chigumbura was a late arrival in the West Indies, having not boarded the plane with the rest of the team. Zimbabwe are pleased he eventually turned up as his striking is vital to the team posting competitive scores, as shown by his 76 against Australia and 49 against Pakistan in the warm-up games.
Team news
New Zealand Meddling with a winning outfit is risky and New Zealand are unlikely to make any changes. "We've named the same 12 so the only change possibly could be Kyle Mills coming in," the captain Daniel Vettori said.
Squad from Daniel Vettori (C), Brendon McCullum (WK), Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Aaron Redmond, Jacob Oram, Gareth Hopkins, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol
Zimbabwe The weather limited Zimbabwe so much in the first game that it will be hard to judge whether anything should change, at least with their batting. Back-to-back matches may force some alterations if any of the faster bowlers struggle in the morning.
Squad from Prosper Utseya (C), Brendan Taylor (WK), Charles Coventry, Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu (WK), Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma, Andy Blignaut, Craig Ervine
Pitch and conditions
The wicket today has got better and better, so we look forward to hopefully a high-scoring game. Unfortunately more storms are predicted for match day, along with a top of 30oC.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Tuesday May 04, 2010
Start time 09:30 local (13:30 GMT)
