Oram happy to be among the favourites

Jacob Oram, like his captain Stephen Fleming, says New Zealand realise they are capable of winning the World Cup for the first time. "There's every chance we're right up there as favourites for the tournament, that's how we're looking at it," he said in the New Zealand Herald. "I'd like to think people are starting to realise we're not just flying under the radar, we're actually a good side."

New Zealand are unbeaten after six matches and sit on top of the points table because of their superior net run-rate. In the Caribbean they have continued their excellent run of form that began in February when they beat Australia 3-0 in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series.

However, New Zealand will need to overcome a disappointing World Cup history to take their first title - they made the semi-finals in 1975, 1979, 1992 and 1999 but lost on all four occasions. They also fell at the semi-final stage in last year's Champions Trophy when they went down to the eventual winners Australia.

"I know we don't perform that well as favourites," he said. "I suppose it's a New Zealand thing. We always like to be underdogs, but one thing we've tried to address is if you look at yourself as an underdog too much then you start to downplay what you're capable of."

Oram said eliminating Australia would again be a major challenge. "I'm not saying we're the favourites for the tournament, I'm saying we're playing well enough, our confidence is very high and we can see ourselves not only getting a semi-finals berth but also a finals spot as well," he said. "We're trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves but we're playing well and in these conditions we're adaptable."

Daniel Vettori, the left-arm spinner, agreed that their biggest test was yet to come. "I suppose the toughest test is coming up now," Vettori told AFP. "People perceive these three teams [Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka] coming up as semi-finalists. We know it's going to be difficult. We're almost guaranteed a semi-final spot but we can control our own destiny if we win tomorrow. It's a good wake-up call in some ways."

There were some good signs for New Zealand in their win over Ireland on Monday - Vettori and Jeetan Patel claimed wickets and Peter Fulton impressed as a makeshift opener - but there were also some concerns. The rest of the specialist batsmen failed to convert their starts and New Zealand will need them to lift against Sri Lanka in Grenada on Thursday.

The batting will be boosted by the return of Ross Taylor from a hamstring strain that put him on the sidelines for four games. His inclusion should mean Hamish Marshall, a mid-tour replacement for Lou Vincent, has to sit out.