New Zealand, semifinalists in two of the previous three World Cups, hope to at least replicate - if not better - those performances as they take on Kenya in their opening Group A fixture of the 2011 edition in Chennai on Sunday.
The Kiwis are expected to comfortably win more due to the dumps that Kenyan cricket is in rather than their own obvious all-round superiority.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said his team will look to make a fresh start at the World Cup after a harrowing run in recent One-Day Internationals.
The Black Caps have lost 14 of their last 16 one-dayers, leading to doubts about their ability to lift their game in testing sub-continental conditions.
"I hope we can look at the World Cup as a fresh start. Our guys have the ability to bounce back. I prefer to look ahead rather than dwell on the past." Vettori said.
New Zealand comfortably defeated Kenya by 148 runs the only time they have played before, in the 2007 World Cup. In 2003, the Kiwis forfeited their World Cup match in Nairobi due to security concerns.
But New Zealand don't want to take the Kenyans lightly. "The hardest thing about playing a qualifier is that you do not see much of them. Some of their players will be a bit of a surprise. You prepare may be after seeing them on television. It adds its own challenge but that shouldn't matter. We have to turn up to play well and win," Vettori noted.
The Kiwis qualified for the penultimate round in 1999 and 2007 to underline their potential, but for all that, they have never looked a side capable of winning the Cup and it could be no different this time around.
Lack of consistency has been New Zealand's bugbear as their performance levels swing to the extremes. Yet, when the team clicks as one, the Kiwis have proven to be a handful, although these occasions have been rare and far in between.
Their top four batsmen in a reshuffled order - Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptil, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder - have not fired in unison which is worrisome for the Black Caps although all are eminently capable of tall scores.
In bowling, the Kiwis have a profusion of seamers. In many ways, the tournament holds immense significance to New Zealand who are expected to qualify for the knock-out rounds from Group A. The luck of draw has provided New Zealand with a projected "soft" opener against the Kenyans whose fortunes revolve around their two senior players, Stephen Tikolo (39) and Thomas Odoyo (32), both set to player their fifth World Cup while Seren Waters, a Durham University student, represents their future hope.
Kenya may be rank outsiders but captain Jimmy Kamande warned rival teams that they can notch up an upset or two as they had done in the past.
"In this tournament, top 14 countries in the world are competing and nobody should be taken lightly. The results will talk about our performance at the end of the day, Kamande said.
"We are going to play our brand of cricket that we know best. In all our matches, we are geared up to get good results. We are well organised and prepared. We will enjoy ourselves and not to copy any team," he added.
The Kiwis are expected to comfortably win more due to the dumps that Kenyan cricket is in rather than their own obvious all-round superiority.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said his team will look to make a fresh start at the World Cup after a harrowing run in recent One-Day Internationals.
The Black Caps have lost 14 of their last 16 one-dayers, leading to doubts about their ability to lift their game in testing sub-continental conditions.
"I hope we can look at the World Cup as a fresh start. Our guys have the ability to bounce back. I prefer to look ahead rather than dwell on the past." Vettori said.
New Zealand comfortably defeated Kenya by 148 runs the only time they have played before, in the 2007 World Cup. In 2003, the Kiwis forfeited their World Cup match in Nairobi due to security concerns.
But New Zealand don't want to take the Kenyans lightly. "The hardest thing about playing a qualifier is that you do not see much of them. Some of their players will be a bit of a surprise. You prepare may be after seeing them on television. It adds its own challenge but that shouldn't matter. We have to turn up to play well and win," Vettori noted.
The Kiwis qualified for the penultimate round in 1999 and 2007 to underline their potential, but for all that, they have never looked a side capable of winning the Cup and it could be no different this time around.
Lack of consistency has been New Zealand's bugbear as their performance levels swing to the extremes. Yet, when the team clicks as one, the Kiwis have proven to be a handful, although these occasions have been rare and far in between.
Their top four batsmen in a reshuffled order - Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptil, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder - have not fired in unison which is worrisome for the Black Caps although all are eminently capable of tall scores.
In bowling, the Kiwis have a profusion of seamers. In many ways, the tournament holds immense significance to New Zealand who are expected to qualify for the knock-out rounds from Group A. The luck of draw has provided New Zealand with a projected "soft" opener against the Kenyans whose fortunes revolve around their two senior players, Stephen Tikolo (39) and Thomas Odoyo (32), both set to player their fifth World Cup while Seren Waters, a Durham University student, represents their future hope.
Kenya may be rank outsiders but captain Jimmy Kamande warned rival teams that they can notch up an upset or two as they had done in the past.
"In this tournament, top 14 countries in the world are competing and nobody should be taken lightly. The results will talk about our performance at the end of the day, Kamande said.
"We are going to play our brand of cricket that we know best. In all our matches, we are geared up to get good results. We are well organised and prepared. We will enjoy ourselves and not to copy any team," he added.
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