Let's get it on. Ross Taylor could have been channelling those hoary, old boxing spruikers with his summation yesterday of where New Zealand are at seven days from the start of the World Cup.
"Talking to a few of the players, it would be nice to get straight into it without the warm-ups, to be honest," New Zealand's senior batsman said. "But it is what it is. The boys have been playing good cricket for a while.
"Come February 14, a lot of hard work will have gone in and we'll see how we go. I'm very excited at having the World Cup in our own back yard."
New Zealand's final World Cup preparations start tomorrow against lowly Zimbabwe at Lincoln. On Wednesday they play South Africa at Hagley Oval, the venue for the World Cup opener between New Zealand and Sri Lanka -- teams who probably know each other's shoe sizes after all the cricket they've played against each other since Christmas.
The co-hosts are feeling confident, which comes from having performed consistently well in series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
They know the conditions intimately, which can't hurt, although playing a World Cup at home will be a novelty for the players.
"Everyone's going in with a bit of form. The batters and bowlers, and the way we've fielded has been outstanding and got better as the series went on," Taylor said.
He made one distinction between standard bilateral series and tournament play, too.
"[In series] you get to work teams out over time. In one-off games, you can have individuals stepping up at different times, and that can be the difference between winning and losing. Zimbabwe and South Africa bring different strengths and it's good to see how we go playing teams in one-off games."
Allrounder Corey Anderson said the World Cup feels "like it's been a while coming, and finally it's just around the corner".
Anderson didn't play New Zealand's last ODI against Pakistan but said the players had appreciated a few days off before coming together in Christchurch yesterday.
"It was important to get away. We spend a lot of time together so it's pretty easy to get sick of each other," he quipped. "It went pretty quickly. Everyone's ready for it now."
It's a theme you'll get from most of the New Zealand players. The battle to win selection is over, the preparation virtually all done and they will be bracing themselves for the real thing.
For Dan Vettori, preparing for his fourth and final World Cup, playing at home feels different.
"You're used to being all over the world, so to be at home and the casualness of that while a world tournament is on feels a bit different," he said. "Getting closer to the first game, all the fanfare, the opening ceremony, that will drive home it is the World Cup."
Vettori said captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson have stressed the importance of taking a casual vibe to the leadup.
"It's like a home series at this stage, and we've been playing really well, so maybe it's a good thing to carry on that line of thought."
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Warm-up matches(all in NZT)
Today
Australia v India, Adelaide, 4.30pm
Tomorrow
NZ v Zimbabwe, Lincoln, 11am
South Africa v Sri Lanka,
Christchurch, 11am
England v West Indies, Sydney, 4.30pm
Wednesday
New Zealand v South Africa, Christchurch, 11am
Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Lincoln, 11am
Australia v United Arab Emirates, Melbourne, 4.30pm
England v Pakistan, Sydney, 4.30pm
Thursday
Scotland v West Indies, Sydney, 12pm
HOS rq
