Bracewell praises in-form bowlers

New Zealand's batsmen have been in terrific form since the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in February but John Bracewell, the coach, believes the efforts of their bowlers deserve just as much attention. New Zealand gave away only three wides and did not bowl any no-balls in their win against West Indies on Thursday, which put the pressure on the home team's top order.

It was a marked improvement on their previous match, when they conceded five wides and nine no-balls. The economy rates on Thursday were excellent, with only James Franklin's figures blowing out at 9.66 an over.

"I was really pleased with the way we held our discipline," Bracewell told AFP. "It was a team effort that went through to our bowlers in particular, try to string those dot balls together and put them under some sort of pressure."

Michael Mason, who was overlooked for most of the CB Series and the Chappell-Hadlee matches, has fought back to play in the last three World Cup games. His tight new-ball effort, combined with Shane Bond's high-class bowling, had Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul struggling from the very start.

"Led by Mike and Shane it set a good standard for us," Bracewell said. "Parts of the team capitalised on the fact we started so well. Our bowling performance had more discipline than most of them. It's something the guys addressed well in those six days we had leading into the game."

Bracewell said Franklin had done little wrong but was targeted by West Indies. "He was attacked, Chris Gayle decided the way to get a target on that wicket was to bully it," Bracewell said.

"I don't think James bowled particularly badly. That was their strategy. That's the beauty of this team - we can bounce out of those situations, shift to a B plan quite seamlessly." New Zealand face Bangladesh in Antigua on Monday.