KEY POINTS:
The Englishman who guided Scotland to the Caribbean has offered a helping hand to ensure New Zealand avoid joining cricket powers embarrassingly upstaged by so-called World Cup easy beats when they play Kenya tomorrow.
Victory over the Africans at Beaujesour Stadium will confirm the Black Caps' progression to the Super Eights stage.
Although that scenario should prove a formality, management have not relaxed their meticulous planning by picking the brain of Andy Moles.
Having already been tripped up by Bangladesh in their first warm-up match, and given the shock elimination of Pakistan, captain Stephen Fleming said it was tempting fate to slacken off mentally against the second-tier nations.
"The next two games [New Zealand play Canada on Friday] are a test of our professionalism," he said.
"Obviously a lot of attention was placed on the England game and the importance of it but we've switched very quickly into the process we use to build up for games.
"We're doing the scouting sessions exactly the same, though the information is limited."
New Zealand has never played Kenya - they forfeited their scheduled match at the last World Cup in Nairobi because of security concerns - and a lack of information on their opponents has Fleming wary of the threat posed by the surprise 2003 semifinalists.
Captain Steve Tikolo aside, the rest of the Kenyan squad are practically unknown, so the Black Caps have sought the input of Moles, a former English county pro in charge of Northern Districts.
Moles, who had a tough time as Kenyan coach as they unravelled after their startling giant-killing run four years ago, happily schooled up John Bracewell before the team left for the West Indies last month.
"We've had a fair degree of notice [about Kenya's capabilities] from Andy," the Black Caps coach said. "He has worked with them over an extended period."
Moles took over on Kenya's return from South Africa but resigned in January 2005, frustrated by administrative mismanagement.
The former Warwickshire opener then headed to Scotland where he plotted their qualification for the West Indies before a falling out with leading players saw him quit that post in January last year.
Moles' dossier on Kenya has supplemented the Black Caps' own investigations since they arrived in St Lucia.
Assistant coach Bob Carter recorded every ball of Kenya's seven-wicket win over Canada last week, gaining a valuable insight into little- known spinners Hiren Varaiya and Jimmy Kamande, who between them snared three for 45 runs off 20 overs.
Fleming said that research was indicative of the approach major nations had to take when confronting the cup's lesser-known sides.
"I think teams are falling short because they're not paying enough attention to the quality of player or the type of side they're coming up against."
NZ v Kenya
St Lucia, 1.15am tomorrow
- NZPA
