KEY POINTS:
Craig McMillan is well aware of the storm growing on the horizon as New Zealand prepare for the last game of their second-round honeymoon, against Ireland at Providence Stadium.
McMillan, one of the few New Zealanders prepared to peep past Tuesday's match, spoke of his deep respect for Sri Lanka and singled out Friday's showdown at Grenada as one of his side's biggest challenges.
"They're a very dangerous side because of the low and slow nature of the wickets," he said. "It's very similar to their own conditions. They've obviously got some world-class players, like Sanath Jayasuriya, Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, and we've already seen they can make life difficult for any opponent."
Sri Lanka will herald the start of the most critical part of the World Cup for New Zealand, who then face tough encounters against South Africa and Australia as they race for a semifinals slot.
There have been suggestions that Sri Lanka are too reliant on the batting prowess of Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, but McMillan said he thought the Tom Moody-coached side were reasonably well balanced, and flexible enough to cope with most situations.
"You look at the game the other day against England and they scraped through, despite Jayasuriya and Sangakkara missing out.
"They still got a total and they managed to defend it, and Murali was a key figure. But they also put their faith in others like Fernando and he did the job for them on the day."
Having cemented his place in the line-up after storming performances in the Chappell-Hadlee series, McMillan suggested Muralitharan was, if anything getting better as a bowler.
"I thought I used to read his doosra but in New Zealand this summer I noticed a few more variations and he can bowl it much quicker through the air than he used to. I had real trouble picking it and so did a lot of the others."
McMillan has averaged 64.50 since the end of the tri-series in Australia and brought New Zealand home in their crucial Super Eights contest against the West Indies with an unbeaten 33.
He said he was rapt with his form and anxious to play an influential role as New Zealand attempted to make history in what would almost certainly be his final Cup.
"It's probably going to be my last World Cup so I really want to make every post a winner and contribute towards a pretty special time for New Zealand.
"It's special for me in many ways, not least because six to eight months ago I didn't expect to be here. I was planning on being in England for some early-season competition, so I see this as a huge opportunity.
"I've been very happy about how things have gone through the first five games. I think as a team we've done what we've needed to and to be sitting unbeaten is very satisfying."
