KEY POINTS:
St Georges - All going well, Daniel Vettori should tomorrow become the third New Zealander to capture 200 wickets in one-day internationals although he'd be happy to delay the milestone in return for a win.
The left-arm spinner has been steadily improving throughout the World Cup, his four wicket bag on Tuesday taking his career tally to 199 and raising the likelihood of him joining the exclusive 200-club in the Super Eights contest against Sri Lanka.
Only Chris Harris (203) and Chris Cairns (200) have managed the feat, and Vettori, the 28-year-old vice-captain, seems assured of leaving those two in his wake as he ploughs on towards the 250 and 300 mark.
He is in fifth place on the tournament wicket-taking list; his 12 dismissals earned at 20.91 runs apiece, and at an economy rate of 4.35, and success in tomorrow's encounter with Sri Lanka would assure him of at least another four games.
New Zealand need to win only one of their next three matches against Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia to be assured of a semifinals berth.
"Teams seem to go either one way or the other," he said. "They want to either block me or smash me, and that ends up a bit of a balancing act.
"I'm wondering if the three major sides might try and preserve wickets against me this time, but we'll have to wait and see."
The ploy has been a typical one for teams looking to counter Vettori's pin-point finger-spin. When Australia made 343 for five at Perth during this season's tri-series, the left-armer emerged from the maelstrom with one for 34 from 10 overs.
He believes opponents will struggle to use the same strategy during the remaining games of the World Cup because most of the New Zealand bowlers were in top form.
"They have tried to see me off in the past but I'm not sure they'll be able to do that at this tournament with the way Bondy [Shane Bond], Jake [Oram] and Scotty [Styris] are bowling.
"You can't just fend off 20 overs and hope to get your runs from the other 30. If we keep on bowling in combinations like we have been, I don't think they'll be able to do that. I think there might be more opportunities on this occasion."
Having seen a variety of pitch conditions since he arrived more than a month ago, he stands by comments he made earlier in the tournament, suggesting the World Cup would be heavily influenced by spinners and slow wickets.
The new surface at Province Stadium was pedestrian paced and turned on command. Grenada gave early help to the swing bowlers in yesterday's match between the West Indies and South Africa, but Vettori still believed there would be turn.
"It's probably better for me when it's a bit damp and seaming," he said. "Shane Warne always used to say that if it seams, it'll turn and I think there's a lot of truth in that.
"It'll turn damp. But later in the afternoon it'll dry out and be at its best."
Vettori said there was no denying the excitement as the players eyed the next three games, and a probable sudden death semifinal at either St Lucia (1 v 4), or Jamaica (2 v 3).
"There's a good feel within the camp but the big test will be the semifinals; that's when it's any team on the day," he said.
"You can turn up and tip out anyone in sudden death. We just want to make sure we're there, that we have our day."
Jacob Oram said it was huge bonus that Vettori was not only keeping down the runs, but also making critical breakthroughs. "He's a massive cog in our machine when it comes to our effort in the field," said Oram.
