KEY POINTS:
Daniel Vettori is down-playing concerns over New Zealand's World Cup honeymoon, insisting his side will not be caught unprepared.
Since beating England more than a month ago and watching India and Pakistan eliminated, New Zealand have had a charmed run through the draw, and are unlikely to be overly extended on Tuesday against Ireland.
Presuming they avoid rain or embarrassment to make a full collect in that match, the Group C winners will then be sitting on eight points and will need only one more win to be guaranteed a semifinals opportunity.
The problem, however, is that the one win needs to be earned at the expense of either Sri Lanka, South Africa or Australia.
Vettori, playing in his third World Cup, said he expected New Zealand to blast their way into the semifinals and look back at a schedule that had primed them for a sudden death showdown at either Kingston or St Lucia.
"If we get through these games and qualify for the semifinals I don't really think it'll resonate like that, it'll turn into quite a nice build-up," he said from the team hotel.
"I suppose you could argue that we haven't had an exceptionally tough game yet but that's probably got as much to do with how we've played, as the performance of the opposition.
"We're certainly not complaining. We're winning games and we're viewing it like that, nothing more, nothing less. We respect whoever we're playing; we prepare with due diligence and we take every win we can get."
Vettori, who needs just five more ODI wickets to become the third New Zealander to eclipse the 200 mark, will play his 200th match in his side's last Super Eight match against Australia at Grenada, and will be hoping for two more before he puts up his feet for an off-season.
He said the key to preparing for a sudden lift in intensity was to concentrate totally - no matter who the opposition, so that you took everything possible from the contest and continued the forward momentum.
"Bangladesh and Ireland have already demonstrated what can happen if you take them lightly, so we simply can't afford to think we're getting easy games, or aren't going to be put under pressure," he said.
"On their day they can produce upset results and we've seen that happen over here. All you need is a wicket that suits them, a favourable toss, and you can be in trouble.
"If you have your head in order you'll cope with that but if you've gone into the game assuming you're going to win, then it can be hard to recover."
The 28-year-old left-armer said New Zealand were fortunate their wake-up call came in the warm-up rounds, when they lost a 13-a-side match against Bangladesh, whereas Pakistan and India had let down their guard in the tournament-proper.
The lesson had been sobering for the New Zealanders.
"We came across a wicket that was doing a bit, didn't adjust and were beaten. That was because of complacency, not just about the opposition but also the conditions.
"It was then that we realised how much more respect we should be paying to the first 10-15 overs of a game, when the wicket's like that."
The lesson was likely to be particularly applicable to the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, where the rain thunders down on a whim on any given day, before the sun and scorching heat steam-dry the landscape in record time.
Most of the games here have been affected by or shortened by the downpours, leaving Vettori wary about the possibility of a juiced-up surface.
"If we do lose the toss on a wet one we've got to concentrate on building an innings, rather than expecting we can whack our way through it. They've definitely got some good players.
"The way the outfield dries so quickly, you know you're going to get back on but the pitch can still be a bit damp so you've got to be prepared to do the hard work.
"We know, not least from our experience against Bangladesh, that you can't take anything for granted."
* Richard Boock was assisted to the West Indies by New Zealand Cricket.
Best Bowlers
New Zealand's top 10 leading wicket-takers in one-day internationals:
Chris Harris 203
Chris Cairns 201
Daniel Vettori 195
Richard Hadlee 158
Ewen Chatfield 140
Shane Bond 120
Scott Stryis 115
Jacob Oram 107
Nathan Astle 99
Daryl Tuffey 91
