KEY POINTS:
Daniel Vettori reckons if it hadn't been for yesterday's exhausting travel schedule, he might have found time to feel a little anxious about tomorrow's World Cup semifinal.
The New Zealand vice-captain and his squad eventually reached their Kingston Hotel after a marathon itinerary that took nine hours to make the fairly straightforward trip from Grenada to Jamaica.
The only consolation was that their Sri Lankan semifinal opponents also had to take the scenic route, so both teams will be in the same boat when it comes to preparing for the Sabina Park showdown.
"It's almost a case of the team that recovers the quickest and hits the ground running will do better than the other," said an obviously tired Vettori.
"They [the organisers] have spaced the tournament out over seven weeks and now they're going to jam-pack the last few games into a short period.
"Days like today don't help, but I guess we have to just get on with it."
New Zealand will have only a light training run today as they recover from yesterday's grind.
But they seem almost certain to have back Shane Bond and Jacob Oram, neither of whom played in the big loss against Australia.
Bond is recovering quickly from the stomach ailment that caused his withdrawal on the morning of the game, and Oram is confident of playing after missing the Saturday contest with a bruised heel.
The consensus seems to be that the return of the pair - probably at the expense of Mark Gillespie and Michael Mason - should be the only two changes from the line-up that lost by a record 215 runs to Australia.
That would give New Zealand the bowling attack that performed so well during their Super Eights win over South Africa, the only satisfactory result they managed in their last three second round games.
The only question is whether coach John Bracewell will persevere with Patel if he finds the pitch at Sabina Park is - as alleged - more suitable for pace bowlers.
Vettori believes the semi has the makings of a wonderfully close contest, particularly as the two teams have played each other so often over the past three years.
"I think both teams try to play similar games in terms of wanting to bowl first if the wicket's got a little bit in it, and chasing," he said.
"They've got one of the greatest weapons in the game in [Muttiah] Muralitharan, and that sets them apart a little bit. But they're the team we probably wanted to play, and we've got the confidence to win the game."
Vettori is one of three players - with Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan - who have experienced a World Cup semifinal, although he was reduced to the role of 12th man for the 1999 match at Manchester.
He was also part of the 2003 side eliminated in the second round.
"Everyone seems pretty comfortable, although there's not many who've been through it. But it doesn't seem like it's wearing on any one.
"There hasn't been much talk about it and I think we're all in a good space. You don't want to wait, it's a game you just want to get in to."
He agreed that New Zealand's chances of winning made tomorrow's game extremely significant for the country's cricket history, but said the team were avoiding the hype and trying to concentrate on the game.
"For most of us it's the biggest game of our careers," he said. "New Zealand have made four previous semis and haven't got past them, and I know there's talk that this is our time, that this is when a New Zealand side kicks on to a final.
"It could be a history-making event and if you look at it that way it's important. But we're just trying to get caught up in the game rather than the hype, and to enjoy the opportunity."
