"Yesterday [against Sri Lanka] was like a practice session for us. We're ready to play now."
Seamer Tim Southee is of like mind. Having admitted he's "a bit of a cricket nuffy [obsessive]" he knows the time has come for the real thing.
However if the weather at Hagley Oval today is similar to the bitter temperatures at Lincoln for their game against Zimbabwe on Monday, he probably wouldn't be alone in preferring to flick on the television and find a game to watch.
Southee recalled the pre-Christmas ODIs in Mt Maunganui against the South Africans, when the visitors twice had New Zealand's measure.
"They're a very strong side and we got a little taste of them then and didn't have the results we wanted," he said.
"So this is another chance to fine tune and get ready for Saturday [when New Zealand open the tournament against the Sri Lankans]."
Southee emphasised the importance of getting a win today, even though the match will have no place in the record books.
Psychologically, New Zealand could do with a more assertive display than their batsmen managed in scraping up 157 for seven against Zimbabwe. Take out Martin Guptill's century and only Ross Taylor, with 11, managed double figures.
It doesn't take much to figure New Zealand's minds were elsewhere. That won't do today.
"It would be nice to tick off another win and go into Saturday with winning momentum," Southee said.
Yesterday was a complete day off for New Zealand, a mix of golf or chilling out the preferred options.
Finding the right balance between working and keeping fresh is not lost on either Southee or du Plessis.
Du Plessis expects New Zealand will provide more intensity in the contest than Sri Lanka did, mainly because it's a couple of days closer to the start for both teams from their Monday hitouts.
But expecting teams to go full out in a 12-a-side game is too much.
South Africa did get batting value out of the win over Sri Lanka as they chased down 188 to win a Duckworth Lewis contest with three balls to spare on Monday.
But 30-year-old du Plessis indicated South Africa aren't losing sleep over these two warmups.
"It's a long tournament and you need to be mentally fresh right through.
"Hopefully it will be an opportunity to get some match intensity and get a situation where we can learn something."
Having the ability to use more than 11 players could be beneficial for New Zealand.
None of their players rolled an arm on Monday, so expect a handful of five-over spells to give several a workout today.
In today's other warmups, Australia face the United Arab Emirates in Melbourne; England play Pakistan in Sydney; and Sri Lanka meet Zimbabwe at Lincoln.
3 things to ponder
1. Let's not get po-faced about this practice game, but it would be nice to see more from New Zealand today against South Africa than they showed against Zimbabwe. After all, this could be a quarter-final match-up in Wellington.
2. Any closer to sorting out your three-seamer mix for Saturday's cup opener yet? Didn't think so.
3. Is 12-a-side the way to treat these warm-ups? There's no atmosphere and it's hard for players to motivate themselves.
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