KEY POINTS:
Well, after the defeat against Sri Lanka we have a sign - the party can continue but the drinks are no longer free.
The early rounds of the super eights were a points-gathering exercise for the Black Caps and, to their credit, points were gained with ruthless efficiency. You could argue that the West Indies and England provided stern competition but there is possibly a stronger argument they are nothing more than sheep in wolves' clothing at present.
On Friday, it looked as if the Black Caps were comfortable with what they needed to do but were not allowed to do it. That's what playing a good team is all about.
The batsmen were caught on the hop, Scott Styris apart. They very quickly need to raise their play to match the quality of the bowlers they will now face. The same can be said for the Black Caps' bowlers.
I'm not about to say we were lulled into a false sense of security - because I do not believe our cricketers to be that stupid - but I do believe they should have been frightened into action.
At least it was a jolt from the mundane and drifting World Cup the New Zealand public has had to endure. We can look forward to intense top-level cricket but the only problem is - from the perspective of obtaining a semifinal - it could be irrelevant. It is crazy that, after five weeks, this tournament has never got out of second gear. With three rounds of super eight play left, barring something unbelievable from England, the semifinalists are known.
That brings its own problems. New Zealand's net run rate is so good that even if they drop three games in a row, that may only have a bearing on what semifinal they play.
So now the tournament moves from a points-gathering exercise to an information-gathering exercise because Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia will be the other semifinalists and, to win this World Cup, New Zealand will play two of them twice.
They can lose to each of them on the first encounter but not on the second and so our team have two priorities over the next week and a half:
1) don't get thrashed and lose a great net run rate;
2) lift their intensity of play so they can do all the things they have been doing in the first half of the tournament - but against teams that have the skill to make that challenging.
Actually, there's a third element that may prove even more effective. They could learn enough about Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia and then find a way to stop them from doing the things they do well.
Ideally, the Black Caps don't want to lose three from three because nothing breeds winning more than winning.
However, if the Sri Lankan game told us they are still a little off the pace, then they should count their lucky stars they have another two games to find another gear.
