KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's opponents tomorrow, Sri Lanka, have seized World Cup favouritism, coach John Bracewell says, as other leading teams struggle to adjust to tricky Caribbean conditions.
Bracewell yesterday picked over New Zealand's shock two-wicket loss to Bangladesh, welcoming it as a wake-up call just over a week from their tournament opener against a resurgent England.
Sri Lanka loom in their final shakedown at the 3W's Oval in Barbados early on Saturday (NZT), with Bracewell saying his side needed to get up to speed fast.
"Sri Lanka, given those conditions we played on yesterday, have probably shifted as one of the tournament favourites," Bracewell said.
"They have greater flexibility across the board for these conditions in terms of their spin, their part-time bowlers and their up-front swingers.
"They have the tools available and we need to adapt to that very quickly."
Fresh from a 3-0 Chappell-Hadlee series win over Australia - the last two on dream batting pitches - New Zealand's top order struggled on a slow, tacky surface against Bangladesh's pacemen.
The first 15 overs were difficult for batting, with dampness still in the air at a 9.30am (local time) start, then the pitch took considerable turn later on. It meant an adjustment to a more cautious approach early on to keep wickets in hand, rather than the blast at all costs approach.
A top order collapse to 75 for six was rescued by Jacob Oram's 88, braving a fractured finger, and wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum's 46. But 226 wasn't enough and Bangladesh got there with an over to spare.
"It could be the best thing or the worst thing to happen to us and we're going to look at it as the best thing," Bracewell said.
"It's a wake-up call, getting used to the conditions and respecting opposition we're going to come across in pool play.
"These are teams you're expected to beat but if you're complacent and not quite ready then on these sorts of wickets they can kick you in the butt."
New Zealand play 2003 semifinalists Kenya on March 20 and Canada on March 22 in pool play in St Lucia after their opener against England on March 16.
Bracewell hoped for more from his opening batsmen and pace bowlers against Sri Lanka, who will again rely on superspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, some handy bowling backup and a powerful batting lineup.
"We must execute up front, both with bat and ball. We need to take the intensity up another notch. We put ourselves in the match several times then took ourselves out of the match with some poor execution."
Bracewell's positives from the game were Oram's form, McCullum's now-familiar rescue mission with the bat, and the spin bowling of Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel.
- NZPA
