KEY POINTS:
ANTIGUA - Stephen Fleming is wary of the threat posed by Bangladesh but confident his team can handle all challenges as they continue their assault on the ninth Cricket World Cup.
Now rated one of the most likely sides to push through to at least the semifinals, New Zealand suffered an upset loss in a 13-a-side warm-up game against Bangladesh, and are on full alert to avoid a repeat performance in tomorrow's Super Eight contest at the Sir Vivian Richards Oval.
A win against Bangladesh and another expected triumph against Ireland a week later in Guyana would leave Fleming's side on eight points and within touching distance of clinching a semifinals place for the fifth time.
However, with three big second-round contests remaining against Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia, the New Zealanders are determined to ensure they negotiate their next two games without any unwelcome surprises.
"They turned us over in a warm-up game; they've been competitive at this tournament and with conditions right they can be quite a handful," Fleming said of Bangladesh.
"There's been a bit of rain around and the pitches will be offering a bit more to the teams bowling first. We've got to be careful, not only in avoiding being too tentative and too nervous about what we try, but also in assessing conditions."
New Zealand stood accused of taking tomorrow's opponents too lightly in the warm-up phase and are mindful that Bangladesh managed to qualify for the Super Eights courtesy of a huge Group B upset win over India.
Fleming, who turned 34 yesterday, said the loss to Bangladesh in the scrimmage match had been a timely wake-up call for the New Zealanders, as it demonstrated how easily a team could slip up in a World Cup if they let down their guard.
He believed his side had the wood on the No 9 seeds, but was quick to point out the main threats they faced.
"Complacency, underestimating what they can do - these are the things we have to guard against," he said.
"I don't think that will happen because it's not in our thought patterns at all, especially after they knocked us over in a warm-up game - that was a blessing in disguise in hindsight.
"But the conditions can also be a challenge because the Bangladesh bowlers employ a slightly fuller length and are able to exploit any freshness in the pitch. They provide different challenges."
New Zealand have won their past seven encounters, going back to the Chappell-Hadlee series at home, and should stretch the sequence to nine with wins against Bangladesh and Ireland; just one short of their best streak.
"Every area's firing quite well and we need to keep that going if we are to progress the way we want to," he said.
"Conditions worked for us last time we played, we bowled first when it swung and we batted later on when things had eased a bit.
"If it's vice-versa against Bangladesh we've got to make sure we work hard with the bat early on and get a score that's competitive."
As for the likely combination tomorrow, Fleming hinted any big changes were unlikely to the team that scored an emphatic win over the West Indies last week, given the need to continue momentum.
That means Peter Fulton will probably remain as Fleming's opening partner, that Hamish Marshall will continue at No 3 and that the main decision will surround whether to include the impressive Michael Mason, or off-spinner Jeetan Patel.
"We'd like to keep playing what we think is our No 1 side, the combination that's been doing the job, so we'll probably stay pretty similar to the last side we put out," he said.
Fleming dispensed with his usual conservatism yesterday to describe himself as being in the form of his life, and said he was looking forward to demonstrating what he was capable of in the next few games.
The stalwart left-hander has never really dominated a World Cup in the manner in which Martin Crowe ruled in 1992, but did manage to post a sublime, match-winning and unbeaten 134 against South Africa in the 2003 tournament.
"I'm really happy with my batting. The strike-rate's pretty good, my defence is excellent and I'm really happy with where I'm at," he said. "I can't bat any better at the moment."
NZ V BANGLADESH
Antigua, 1.15am tomorrow
New Zealand
Stephen Fleming (c), Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin, Ross Taylor.
Bangladesh
Habibul Bashar (c), Shahriar Nafees, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Javed Omar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafique, Mushfiqur Rahim, Rajin Saleh, Saqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Tamim Iqbal, Tapash Baisya.
* Richard Boock has been assisted to the West Indies by NZ Cricket.
