The New Zealand cricket team is probably the most underrated of the eight Test playing nations in world cricket. It is mostly due to their own attitude towards their game. Some days they look unbeatable and on other occasions they meekly surrender.

They have the longest-serving captain in cricket, Stephen Fleming. They have two of the most potent ODI bowlers in Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori, experienced all-rounders in Craig McMillan and Scott Styris and wicket-keeper batsman Brendan McCullum, who could be ranked along with the world’s best. If Jacob Oram wins his battle against injury, the Black Caps could be candidates for the World Cup.

Peter Fulton and Ross Taylor have shown in the Commonwealth Bank and the Chappell-Hadlee series how effective they can be under pressure. The bowling of Mark Gillespie and James Franklin has been effective, if not penetrating. All New Zealand can wish for is that their players can give a unified  performance for a month and half.

Strengths: Bond, Fleming and Vettori. In the absence of Brett Lee of Australia, Bond is the most feared fast bowler at the World Cup. He has the capacity of wrecking any batting order single-handedly. Vettori, with his spin and consistent batting lower down the order, and Fleming’s leadership are the Kiwis’ trump cards. Other than that, top-of-the-line fielding and a killer attitude make them one of the front-runners in the competition.

Weaknesses: The islanders play very little cricket throughout the year, which leads to a factor of not being able to know your own limits. This could inhibit their chances but their recent form exudes confidence; in the final game of the Tri-series they successfully chased 346 after being 41 for four. This is the best opportunity for them to strike gold.

Threats: Bond is a very injury-prone bowler and New Zealand must take care that he lasts the entire month and a  half, as he is crucial to their performance.

Prediction: Definite semi-finalists and a final place is not beyond reach, though I think they might have peaked too early and hence might run out of steam.