I'm on the verge of something big: Cairns

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, March 10 AAP - Chris Cairns tonight claimed he was on the verge of the type of red-hot performance that could burn Australia in tomorrow's World Cup clash at St George's Park.

The damaging Kiwi allrounder, ruled out of the game for 12 months before the Cup, has been getting better with every outing, making a 73-ball 54 and taking 2-16 against Zimbabwe in the Kiwis' opening Super Sixes game.

"I feel I'm simmering; I'm there or there-abouts," he said.

"So far we've had match-winning efforts from Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle. Shane Bond and myself hopefully have a big game up our sleeves, so it's exciting.

"It was good to get a couple of wickets the other day. It's all about match-play and confidence. I think every sportsperson craves confidence and you can only get that through performance. Individual success makes a huge difference."

Cairns said New Zealand would have to fire from the first ball to the last if it was going to spring an upset.

"It's a big game because these guys are the best and the proof of that lies in their record," he said.

"It's always enjoyable pitting yourself against the best. You're not going to beat these guys in 70 or 80 overs. If you do beat them, you know it's going to go the distance and that's what we've got to gear ourselves for.

"When you play Australia you've got to start well. You can't let them get away on you or they'll just ride off into the sunset. You can't sit back, you've got to play aggressively."

The Kiwis would not be intimidated by Australia, according to Cairns.

"They're good, they're very good but every side has a chink and it's just a matter of playing well enough to expose it," he said.

"We've got plans in that regard, and it's just a matter of going out there and playing good cricket against them. So, why weren't the Kiwis overawed?

"Dunno, they do have a certain mystique but we don't fear them, we respect them," he said.

"They'll be very professional, very thorough and just look to execute their plans against us. They should be relaxed because they've already qualified for the semi-finals and that could be to our advantage, in that complacency could play a part."

New Zealand runs the risk of missing the semi-finals if it loses to Australia.