Stephen Fleming must be thinking when he will catch his lucky break. If the bowlers are the usual suspects for injuries, this time, it’s his batsmen that have let him down! But not without some help from the bowlers. Shane Bond broke Lou Vincent’s hand and Ross Taylor’s hamstring has been pulled. Vincent must be an especially bitter loss after he had fought his way back into form with a century.

Despite that, however, New Zealand has a decent enough side to challenge the West Indies on their home turf. That the Windies would be playing for the third day running won’t help the home team, but New Zealand are not complaining! With two guaranteed wins against Ireland and Bangladesh up for grabs, they just need to ensure they win a game against West Indies and maybe their bunny team Australia! The semi-final spot is theirs for the taking!

The West Indies need a bolt of lightning from the blue to lift their chances. They were fairly lucky to make it to this stage with two points but still need to win a few to make it further. Their lacklustre performances so far are hardly confidence-arousing and could well continue if Lara spends more time commenting on the crowd support rather than focusing on what ails his players. And what ails them is completely mental.

If playing at home cannot ensure them wins, the Windies really don’t deserve to go any further. Winning a tournament at home has always been tough but getting to the semis has been easier (England and South Africa being the exceptions!).

Over-simplifying the West Indies problems, all they need to do is field better, bowl better and bat better. Of course, everyone knows that but it’s still not happening, is it? The batsmen seem to dislike the sun for they are always in a hurry to return to the comfort of the dressing room.

Jokes apart, though, if the Windies can beat the New Zealanders today, it would be just the shot the Super Eights needs. Else, the semi-finalists may just be decided before the last few games are played.