Cricket: We are good enough - Vettori

Daniel Vettori says New Zealanders will have every right to question what is going on if his team fail in their next two Champions Trophy matches - because it's exactly what he will be doing.

The Black Caps face Sri Lanka in a must-win match tonight (NZT) to have any chance of finishing in the top two in their group and qualifying for the semifinals.

They will also need to win their final group match on Wednesday morning (NZT) against an England side which did them a favour by beating Sri Lanka yesterday.

New Zealand have a good tradition in one-day cricket to uphold. They made the last four at the 2007 World Cup as well as the semifinals at the 2006 Champions Trophy and were ranked No2 for some time. They won the 2000 Champions Trophy.

But they have struggled all winter, being bundled out of the recent Compaq Cup with India and Sri Lanka without much of a fight, and their one-day ranking has slipped to sixth on the back of a series of poor performances.

"If we don't win one, then questions have to be asked," Vettori said forthrightly from Johannesburg.

"The team here is good enough to win. It's a strong side and a very balanced one and we have got to get past that potential tag and get results on the board.

"There's no reason why we can't be one of the best sides in the world. We have got a long way to go in test cricket, but in Twenty20 and one-dayers, this is a very good side."

The biggest thing holding them back is their top order. They had a miserable time in Sri Lanka and failed to post a challenging total against South Africa on Thursday.

Too often they get starts but give their wicket away through questionable shot selection.

Martin Guptill (21) and Brendon McCullum (44) were guilty of this on Thursday, while Jesse Ryder (8) was out limply trying to pull a full delivery.

There is undoubted talent and ability throughout New Zealand's line-up, but a terrible lack of consistency. Vettori realises this and has asked his batsmen to approach their task with no fear.

"That's the most difficult thing," he says. "If you talk about it [the batting] for long enough, it can induce fear. The key words we have been trying to emphasise is to play with no fear.

"It's a team thing rather than individual. It's the ability to build partnerships and take the game away from teams. The teams that are winning are building partnerships of 100 or more.

"The batsmen need to step up, but it doesn't mean the bowlers can't afford to turn up too."

The bowlers should be excited about sending a few down on the Wanderers pitch.

It will be the same deck as the one used in yesterday's Sri Lanka/England match. Sri Lanka posted 212 but were in dire trouble at 17-4 early in their innings as the England bowlers profited on a lively pitch.

Daryl Tuffey and Shane Bond are New Zealand's main weapons. Bond is a wicket-taker and has looked sharp since his return from international wilderness, often reaching 145km/h against South Africa.

Kyle Mills might well be useful on this pitch, given the swing extracted by England's James Anderson against Sri Lanka - swing that might also increase the likelihood of James Franklin playing tonight.

Franklin has been called into the squad to replace the injured Jacob Oram.

The left-armer has been in good form for Gloucestershire. In seven one-dayers he has taken 11 wickets at 21.90 and scored 224 runs at a strike-rate of 82.05.

The 28-year-old was unbeaten on 104 and had earlier collected 5 for 30 when he left a county championship match mid-game to travel to the Republic.

Franklin will add better balance to the side. Although Oram was badly out of form with the bat, he had more potential to take the game away from South Africa than replacement Gareth Hopkins, who played as a batsman.

They had no further batting options to call into the team, but clearly regretted their decision to leave Jeetan Patel out on a turning Centurion pitch and Hopkins' selection was a clear indication they didn't trust their top order.

Ian Butler (illness) also missed the South Africa game and a decision on his continued involvement was due to be made overnight.

Vettori said either Chris Martin or Iain O'Brien could be called up as a replacement, with O'Brien the most likely because he's playing for Leicestershire and is in the same time zone as South Africa.

Sri Lanka loom as a difficult proposition.

They thoroughly outplayed New Zealand in last month's two-test series and thumped them in the one-dayer in the Compaq Cup.

The Black Caps scored a dismal 119 against Sri Lanka, with only Grant Elliott (41) and Butler (25) getting past 14.

They have often struggled against the three Ms - Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan - but Vettori was hopeful they could navigate them tonight and pointed to the fact they beat Sri Lanka in two Twenty20 internationals.

"The Sri Lanka series was huge for us in terms of preparation," he says. "If we hadn't played them for some time and came up against the variation their bowlers possess, it would be tough.

"There will be no excuses. We will have to play well to beat them."