March 22, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 2, 1428

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GROS ISLET (St Lucia), March 21: New Zealand are set to ring the changes for their final World Cup group match against Canada here Thursday after booking their place in the Super Eights with a thumping 148-run win over Kenya.

Victory gave the Black Caps two wins – a record that can only be equalled in Group C by either England or Kenya who play each other on Saturday for the second qualifying spot.

And that means New Zealand can rest the likes of fast bowler Shane Bond safe in the knowledge that nothing is riding on Thursday's match against the North Americans other than their professional pride.

Ross Taylor is also likely to miss out after sustaining a hamstring injury while making a top score of 85 in New Zealand.

“We've got a luxury now and we've just got to make sure tactically we get it right with the assessment of each wicket,” said skipper Stephen Fleming after seeing paceman Michael Mason take his chance with two for 29 from nine overs as Kenya were bowled out for 183.

“I'm really excited to qualify at this stage. To be there amongst it and taking points through (New Zealand are certain to carry two points with them for beating a fellow qualifier having defeated England by six wickets first time out) is exactly how we planned it.

“The main thing is not to get too carried away. We're ticking along quite nicely and I guess we are looking forward to making improvements all the way through.

“If that's the case then we will come pretty close (to winning the World Cup),” said Fleming whose side had 'minnow trouble' in a warm-up defeat by Bangladesh.

Looking ahead to the Canada match, Fleming added: “There will be changes. I don't think Shane will play. Daryl Tuffey will come in for a game, Peter Fulton will come in and Jeetan Patel will be close.

“It's a great opportunity we've afforded ourselves by qualifying now to make sure all our guys are in good nick.”

Canada lost to Kenya by seven wickets but did bat out their overs in a 51-run defeat by England on Sunday.

Teams (from):

NEW ZEALAND: Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming (captain), Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel, Michael Mason, Peter Fulton, Daryl Tuffey.

CANADA: John Davison (captain), Ashish Bagai, Geoffrey Barnett, Umar Bhatti, Ian Billcliff, Desmond Chumney, Austin Codrington, George Codrington, Anderson Cummins, Sunil Dhaniram, Ashif Mulla, Henry Osinde, Abdool Samad, Kevin Sandher, Qaiser Ali.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Asad Rauf (Pakistan).

TV umpire: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).

Reserve umpire: Peter Parker (Australia).

Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).—AFP

Match starts at 6:30pm (PST)
Expected weather: 30 degrees Centigrade (88 degrees Fahrenheit) with prospects of light rain during afternoon.
Pitch: Early movement, firm but becoming easier for batting as game progresses.