/ Editor / 22 April 2007 /

World Cup Semi Final - New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Tuesday 15:30)

The first semi final sees a clash between two of the tournament's dark horses. Both of these sides were expected to do well and they will play off for the honour of facing in the final the winner of the meeting of the two pre-tournament favourites, Australia and South Africa.

Sri Lanka eased to victory in the Super 8 meeting between the two, winning by six wickets with nearly five overs to spare. New Zealand were hammered by Australia in their last match and go into this one as slight outsiders, trading at 2.24. Sri Lanka qualified for the last four in second place - thanks to the Kiwi's heavy Aussie defeat - and they are available at 1.75 to advance.

Mahela Jayawardene's men will head into this one with confidence, as they have a decent recent record against the Kiwis. As well as last week's win, they cruised to a seven wicket victory in the Champions Trophy and shared a series played in New Zealand at the turn of the year.

That series was played in very different, Black Cap-friendly conditions, and the Sri Lankans signed off with a massive 189 run triumph at Auckland. The home side were dismissed for just 73, in a performance that drew attention to the ability of the Sri Lankans to prosper in different conditions.

The Caribbean has made them feel more at home and they have taken full advantage of pitches that have suited their impressive bowling unit. Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas have shared 46 wickets, with the former two receiving plenty of support in the top wicket taker market.

Murali has 19, three less than current leader Glenn McGrath, and trades at 5.1. He has 14 wickets from his last six ODI appearances against the Black Caps, including figures of three for 32 in the Super 8 meeting.

'Malinga the slinger' has missed the last three matches with an ankle problem, although he is expected to be available for this clash. His lack of action has seen him slip to seven wickets adrift of McGrath in the wicket taking charts and to 36 in that market.

In fact all three Sri Lankan star bowlers were rested against Australia in their penultimate Super 8 match, making their heavy seven wicket defeat to the favourites difficult to gauge ahead of a possible meeting in the final. They will certainly have to perform if Sri Lanka are to go one better than their last four appearance in 2003.

Sri Lanka of course went all the way in 1996, whilst New Zealand have never advanced beyond the semi-final stage. Stephen Fleming's men trade as outsiders of the four contenders, at 6.8, whilst Sri Lanka are available at 5.3. The Aussies are in ominous form and look extremely tough to beat in their bid for a third consecutive World Cup. They are currently on offer at 2.02.

The Black Caps have won three of the six World Cup meetings against their semi-final opponents, but have the slight upper hand in overall head to head clashes. They have won 34 and lost 29 ODI encounters, although 19 of those wins came in the first 23 meetings between the two. Sri Lanka have won seven of the last nine ODI's played at neutral venues.

The venue for this one is Sabina Park in Jamaica, where the tournament began on March 13th. Sri Lanka have never played at the Kingston ground and New Zealand's only completed ODI ended in defeat 11 years ago. The six matches played there in this tournament have produced three wins for the chasing team, two for the defending side with one tie.

Stephen Fleming is the only survivor from that Sabina Park defeat and the Kiwi skipper has had a solid tournament so far. He has hit one ton and three fifties, and although he has never threatened in a top runscorer market, which Matthew Hayden has dominated, his canny captaincy has been as responsible for his team's run to this stage as his runs have.

Fleming has had various opening partners in this tournament due to Kiwi injury problems, but Peter Fulton has taken advantage of Lou Vincent's broken wrist and made the spot his own. He played a lone hand with a battling 62 against Australia and his partnership with Fleming might appeal in the opening partnership market.

The evergreen Sanath Jayasuriya has found some of his explosive hitting form, but Upal Tharanga has struggled. He has not passed 12 in five of his six knocks in the Super 8's. However, he does know how to score against the Black Caps attack, having hit a crucial 56 in the Champions Trophy clash between the two.

Both these sides have struggled with injury problems in this tournament. As well as strike bowler Malinga, Sri Lanka have doubts over Dilhara Fernando, the hero with the ball in his side's narrow and crucial win over England.

The Black Caps have been even worse off, with Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor, James Franklin and Mark Gillespie all suffering with knocks, as well as the departed Vincent. Oram was rested as a precaution against Australia with a bruised heel but the key all-rounder should be fit for this one.

Oram is one of three in-form New Zealanders. He averages 40.5 with the bat and 21.33 with the ball in the tournament and gives much needed balance to the line-up. Fellow allrounder Scott Styris has been a revelation, hitting 462 runs and taking nine wickets.

The Black Caps' main man is undoubtedly Shane Bond. The paceman has been handled gently by the Black Caps management, aware that his back problems can flare up at any time.

Although he has only 12 wickets, they have come at a cost of just 12.83 each and his remarkable economy rate of 2.58 is by far the best in the tournament. Sri Lanka have got away lightly recently, as Bond has taken just three wickets in their last four meetings. His fitness will be a big boost for Fleming as he knows that his star bowler is not only capable of firing the Black Caps to the final, but also of winning it: he averages just 13.88 with the ball against the Aussies.

After suffering some meaningless Super 8 games and the well-documented sparse crowds, this tournament can look forward to two mouth-watering semi finals. The Aussies are clearly the team to beat, but the winner of this clash would love the chance to take the first finalist's spot and prove the favourites can be beaten - should they dispose of the Proteas.

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