Kiwis keen to shed tag of dark horses, says Vettori

Mumbai, Nov 6 (UNI) New Zealand vice-captain Daniel Vettori today said his team is keen to shed the tag of 'dark horses' and needed a breakthrough in major tournaments to be compared with the top teams in the world.

The Kiwis, whose only big victory came at the 2000 Champions Trophy in Nairobi, reached the semi-finals in India too but have somehow found it difficult to raise the bar in the later stages of a tournament.

Vettori, who along with his former teammate Chris Cairns participated in a match along with kids for a promotional event here this morning, was speaking to the media after the match. The two New Zealanders got a real taste of some maidan cricket.

''We obviously don't like being tagged as dark horses,'' said Vettori. ''We have to win games consistently to be in the list of favourites for the World Cup. The team would more or less be the same as this but we need to get more runs at the top, that's the priority.'' Cairns also agreed that New Zealand needed to get the top-order sorted out as soon as possible. The bowling was alright but New Zealand need to get the balance right to actually start thinking about the World Cup.

''A bowler like Shane Bond can make difference to any team. He is such a big weapon, and in this tournament he formed a very good partnership with Kyle Mills. But it's the number three, four and five in the batting order that look a little shaky,'' Cairns replied to a query.

Cairns was also pleasantly surprised with the resurgence of West Indies cricket and said that according to him it was the best two teams in the Champions Trophy that competed in the final.

''West Indies were not a patch on this side when they toured New Zealand. Chris Gayle has made a huge difference, also (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul, who wasn't cut out for captaincy, is a much better player under Lara. The team is playing some exciting cricket and I am glad for them. It is necessary that the host nation performs well in the World Cup to get the crowd going,'' Cairns further added.

Daniel Vettori and his band of kids beat the team of young kids led by Chris Cairns at the Parsee Gymkhana.

Speaking about the experience of playing maidan cricket, Vettori said ''I have always enjoyed playing cricket in India. I appreciate the enthusiasm for cricket in India and the adulation. The person you least expect to know about the game rattles out your statistics and know when you made your debut.'' UNI GS WD PDS DB2014