KEY POINTS:
New Zealand hope to follow a trail blazed by the West Indies when they start their Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia tonight.
Coach John Bracewell said yesterday that the West Indies' upset win against Australia at the start of the tournament was a lesson his side had not
ignored during the lead-up to the first semifinal against the world champions at Mohali.
Brian Lara's West Indians will square off against South Africa in the second semi at Jaipur tomorrow, having stormed into the play-offs on the back of consecutive wins over Australia and eliminated hosts, India.
"The West Indies showed us where you need to be to beat Australia," Bracewell said. "They tied them down, applied pressure and finished off strongly - and that's probably a good blueprint for any side that wants to do well against them.
"There's a real lesson in there. To beat Australia you've got to bowl well at the front of the innings, control the pressure and tempo, and then come back and finish the job off."
New Zealand have mixed news on the injury front. Fast-bowler Shane Bond is likely to shrug off a hamstring strain but all-rounder Scott Styris is rated "very unlikely" to play because of a lower-back problem.
Bracewell said that, although his side were regarded as underdogs, they still rated their chances of toppling the Australians, who they last beat in the final one-dayer of the Chappell-Hadlee series at the end of last year.
Never one to cower in the presence of his transtasman rivals, he even suggested the Australians had been lucky to make the final four and that - though they were clearly the most talented side in the world - they weren't necessarily the smartest.
"Australia lack spin depth and they've been fortunate, in a way, to make their way through to the semifinal with wins against a very poor England team and against India when all the conditions were in their favour," he said.
"They continue to impress as the most skilled side in the world but that's solely what they rely on."
By contrast, he believed New Zealand were a more adaptable side and were better suited to devising and executing a successful game-plan in the face of adversity.
He reckoned, on a straight-out belter, Australia would be difficult for any side to contain; on a slower or more variable surface New Zealand's flexibility would come to the fore.
"The difference here is that the conditions are unpredictable and you really have to have a plan and a couple of contingencies up your sleeve as well," said Bracewell.
"When things are changing under your feet you have to be able to think quickly. We believe we're pretty good in that sort of environment, particularly when the opposition are being challenged by the same sort of adversity.
"That's when we're in our element."
New Zealand would dearly love Styris to return to bolster a top order that - Stephen Fleming apart - has been alarmingly out-of-sorts, particularly as the options at No 4 and 5 are starting to look thin on the ground.
Hamish Marshall and Peter Fulton have both failed to fire in the tournament, although Fulton can at least claim to have been unlucky, having been adjudged caught behind off a ball that flicked his shoulder, and leg before to a delivery that was heading down leg-side.
The only other option for New Zealand is to formally replace Styris with stand-by batsman Ross Taylor, which would mean Styris wouldn't be eligible to play in the final.
Sudden death
New Zealand v Australia
Champions Trophy
Live Sky Sport 1, 9.30 tonight
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (c), Lou Vincent, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Hamish Marshall, Peter Fulton, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel, Mark Gillespie.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds.
