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Cricket World Cup 2015: We are three games away from winning WC, says De Villiers

Wellington: Even after losing their last cricket World Cup Pool B game against Pakistan, South African skipper AB de Villiers on Wednesday said they are only three games away from lifting the elusive trophy.

"I 100 percent believe we are the best team in the tournament here. Those two losses in the group stage did hurt us a bit but we are past that now. We know we are very close... three games away from taking that World Cup home," de Villiers was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.

"The most important game is tomorrow but we know we are not far off so it's important to be positive and still believe we are the best."

The Proteas in their last group encounter the United Arab Emirates (UAE) here on Thursday.

The skipper said he was sure his side can chase down any score and he was quite confident of the batting line-up which has not quite fired in the last two matches.

"It's not an issue. I believe we can chase down any total, We've done it in the last year a few times under pressure. We didn't get it right the last couple of chases and that's alright."

"I am still confident in the batting unit. I believe there are a few guys due for big runs and it's going to happen soon at the right time," he said.

South Africa's immediate focus, though, is the balance of the team. Their preference for seven specialist batsmen has left them making up a fifth bowler from part-timers but playing five front-line bowlers will leave a batsman short which again can be a cause for concern.

"That's the difficult decision most teams have to make at this World Cup - an extra batter or an extra bowler," the 31-year-old pointed out.

"The last few games we have gone for the extra batter, against India we went for the extra bowler. Both times we lost. So it's a difficult one."

McCullum wary of Bangladesh's pacers

Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, singled out Bangladesh's pace attack as the real challenge for his batsmen ahead of their 2015 World Cup Pool A clash in Hamilton on Friday (March 13).

The Bangladesh pacers, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed, took eight of the ten England wickets to fall (one more was a run out) in their famous 15-run victory in Adelaide, which sealed their place in the quarterfinals.

"I think what we saw the other night with a couple of the guys there, the threat that they pose with ball in hand for their quick bowlers is a lot more than a few years ago," said McCullum at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

"Tomorrow's going to be tough. The quick bowlers are going to ask us some questions, especially if it juices up a little bit. But we've faced some good, quick bowlers over the last little while too."

New Zealand, having won all five of their matches in the tournament so far, will end the group stage on top of the Pool A points table irrespective of the result against Bangladesh.

McCullum, with three brisk half-centuries, including the fastest World Cup fifty, off just 18 balls, already, is expected to be targeted with spin by Mortaza's men.

“You can't get too wound up in the talk. The game is played with bat and ball, and tomorrow I guess we'll see what unfolds," McCullum pointed out. “So respectfully just wait and see what tomorrow has got to bring.”

He was also quick to disagree when asked if he felt his team was yet to be tested in the competition.

"We have been tested, and I think we've come through those tests," he said. "I think we've been tested considerably throughout the tournament, and I think we've found a way to get ourselves through those situations and it's really a pleasing aspect."

Confident that his team would make the most of the lessons from the past weeks, he added, “We've had the ability to bowl teams out in front to 200 and pretty much every opportunity we've had, we've had batters first, we've managed to get over 300. [Some] guys might be a little light on some hard game time under pressure late in a game. But it's, I guess, a byproduct of success we've been having along the way.”

He reserved special praise for Daniel Vettori, who’s taken 12 wickets in five games at a remarkable average of 11.33. “He's referred to as a bit of a wizard as well from teams over in Australia, and his art and his ability to just read a game and the ability to use a change of pace and subtle change of pace is something which I think not too many other guys around the world have such skill at. Couple years ago he was struggling for fitness, and I think what we've seen over the last few weeks is a guy who's gone away, worked incredibly hard on his fitness, and still has the drive within him to be part of the New Zealand team.”

McCullum confirmed that his teammates, including Kane Williamson, had recovered from stomach trouble and would be available for the game, but Adam Milne, who has a bruised shoulder, is likely to be replaced by Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-arm pacer, in what will be New Zealand’s first change to their XI.

The captain also backed Ross Taylor, the out-of-form batsman, to come good at some stage in the tournament. “His form is not a major concern,” he insisted. “He's been short of opportunity throughout this World Cup, just through the nature of us bowling as well as we have and obviously chasing down the runs."

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cricket world cup 2015 - South Africa's 16-1 advantage

South Africa's 16-1 record against West Indies is the most lopsided between two top-eight teams in ODIs since the beginning of 2007

3-2 South Africa's World Cup record against West Indies. They won in 1992, lost in 1996 and 2003, and won in 2007 and 2011.

16-1 - South Africa's win-loss record against West Indies since the beginning of 2007. It's themost lopsided win-loss ratio in ODIs between two of the top eight teams during this period. South Africa's only loss was in Port Elizabeth earlier this year, when West Indies chased down 263 for the loss of 9 wickets. There was also a tied game between them in the 2013 Champions Trophy in Cardiff. The next most one-sided match-up is also against West Indies - Australia have an 18-2 winning record during this period.

4 - Hundreds that both AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have scored in ODIs against West Indies. Amla has got them in 11 matches, and averages 94.66, while de Villiers has played 20 games, and averages 66.06 against them. Both have a strike rate of 105. Two other South African top-order batsmen have also enjoyed batting against West Indies - JP Duminy averages 63.14 from 15 games, and David Miller 78.75 from ten.

20.69 Chris Gayle's batting average against South Africa in his last 13 ODI innings, going back to the beginning of 2007. During this period his highest score against them is 45.

4 Number of times Morne Morkel has dismissed Gayle in ODIs. He has bowled 46 balls to Gayle, and conceded 41 runs. Against Dale Steyn, Gayle has scored 47 off 45 balls and been dismissed once; while Vernon Philander has gone for 35 from 24, for one dismissal.

12 Wickets for Imran Tahir, from four games against West Indies, at an average of 13.25 and an economy rate of 4.72. Steyn has 19 from 12 games, at an average of 23.57, while Morkel has 22 from 12 and averages 23.54.

7 Number of games out of the last ten completed ones at the Sydney Cricket Ground - going back to 2010 - that have been won by the team chasing: they all have been day-night games as well. Each of the last four matches at the SCG has gone in favour of the team batting second.

4.93 The average run rate for the team batting first in ODIs here since 2010. There have been only two 275-plus scores in the last ten 50-over games for the teams batting first.

cricket world cup 2015- How the teams stack up

A look at how New Zealand and Australia's elevens match up, player to player

On Saturday, the World Cup co-hosts meet at Eden Park and given recent form and familiarity with conditions, it is a clash of the two favourites to win the tournament. Remarkably, Australia and New Zealand have not played out a full ODI since the last World Cup in 2011, when Australia prevailed in Nagpur. That is a shame, because it is hard to imagine two more evenly-matched one-day outfits right now. As these comparisons show, it is hard to split the sides, although New Zealand seem more settled and with the home advantage, might just have the edge.

Opening with a bang
Brendon McCullum & Martin Guptill v David Warner & Aaron Finch

Who would you rather, Brendon McCullum or David Warner? That has been a common question asked this week as observers consider the power batsmen at the top of these two orders. McCullum lets his bat do the talking, as he did with 77 off 25 balls against England in Wellington. Warner's mouth does plenty of talking, but so does his bat. But the question neglects the serious talent at the other end: Aaron Finch is Australia's top ODI run scorer of the past two years, and is coming off a World Cup 135 against England; Martin Guptill has New Zealand's highest-ever ODI score. On the small Eden Park ground, heaven help the record books if all four men get going.

The young rocks
Kane Williamson v Steven Smith

Kane Williamson is 24, Steven Smith is 25. Williamson has captained his country, so has Smith. Williamson is New Zealand's leading ODI scorer of the past year, Smith is Australia's reigning ODI Cricketer of the Year. Williamson has become New Zealand's most reliable batsman, Smith is Australia's. The retirement of the likes of Ponting, Tendulkar, Kallis, Dravid et al left some uncertainty about who would figure in the next generation of great batsmen. There is every chance that Williamson and Smith will lead the way.

The middle-order experience
Ross Taylor v Michael Clarke

If there are top-order wobbles, both teams have an experienced right-hander who can steady things in the middle. Australia's problem is that theirs, Michael Clarke, has played only two ODIs in the past year, got injured in both of them, and by Saturday will have spent 11 weeks without a proper international match. For New Zealand, Ross Taylor might have flown under the radar compared to some of his team-mates, but scored an ODI hundred four games ago.

The wicketkeepers
Luke Ronchi v Brad Haddin

Luke Ronchi v Brad Haddin. The subject, no doubt, of the occasional Australian selection debate circa 2008. Haddin was preferred then, but Ronchi filled in during ODIs in the Caribbean when Haddin was injured. Now they are playing for opposing countries. Both men now have a finishing role down the order, and little separates their striking ability. Haddin is especially strong down the ground, so the short straight boundaries at Eden Park may well suit him.

The seaming allrounders
Corey Anderson & Grant Elliott v Shane Watson & Mitchell Marsh

It will be interesting to see how the medium-pacers from both sides handle the small ground, whether they can contain the batsmen by using variations or nagging accuracy. Corey Anderson offers something different, being a left-armer, and his batting might is clear. Shane Watson has the experience of the quartet, but not necessarily the recent form. Mitchell Marsh took a five-for against England but New Zealand might target him, and Grant Elliott is the most overlooked of the group but also has the most recent hundred.

The spinners
Daniel Vettori v Glenn Maxwell

New Zealand will use a highly-experienced, specialist spinner who can bat. Australia will use a part-time offspinner whose dynamic batting and fielding could turn a game. Maxwell's presence contributes to Australia's very deep batting order, but at Eden Park he will have no room for error with his bowling. Vettori's experience and canniness might prove an advantage to New Zealand.

The pace attacks
Tim Southee, Trent Boult & Adam Milne v Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc & Josh Hazlewood/Pat Cummins

Richard Hadlee reckons Tim Southee and Trent Boult are New Zealand's best ever new-ball pair. Their swing and control will be a severe challenge for Australia's top order; Southee's seven-for against England was a masterclass of swing bowling. But Mitchell Starc is just as fine a swing bowler when conditions suit - no bowler has more ODI five-fors in the past three years than Starc's four. Both teams have men who can break 150kph - Mitchell Johnson and Adam Milne - but New Zealand's attack is more settled, with Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins jostling for the final spot for Australia. Execution amongst the fast men could be where this game is won or lost.

The captains
Brendon McCullum v Michael Clarke

Australia have become so used to winning without Clarke in the one-day format that it is hard to predict what effect his return could have for a side that feels more like it belongs to George Bailey. Certainly the captain-coach dynamic between Clarke and Darren Lehmann has received plenty of attention lately, thanks to Shane Warne and his comments. New Zealand's leadership is more settled. "Stephen [Fleming] was amazing in the background, the way he could organise and motivate a team," Daniel Vettori said on Thursday. "I think Brendon does that similar sort of role, but he probably does it on the field. That's why the guys have gravitated towards him so much, because of the example that he sets, particularly the way he fields, he sets an example that you have to follow."