New
Zealand completed their fifth straight win in the World Cup when they
swept aside Afghanistan Sunday but felt the tournament has yet to
properly begin, according to team veteran Daniel Vettori.
In all
five games, including against Australia and England, New Zealand have
bowled out the opposition inside 50 overs with an aggressive attack
blending Vettori's spin with swing bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult.
Vettori,
who racked up another milestone in his stellar career when he took his
300th ODI wicket at McLean Park on Sunday -- returning figures of four
for 18 -- said the focus was what lies ahead for the team rather than
individual feats.
"It's purely about winning games, and that's
what we've been able to do so far, and we can hopefully continue in the
important knockout stages," he said.
The quarterfinals "is where
it really starts", and form through the pool stages could not be a
consideration, he said dismissing South Africa's shock 29-run loss on
Saturday to Pakistan.
"All the teams that eventually make it [to
the play-offs] have got match winners. So you can't sit back and say a
team's not in form or haven't played well because you go into it
thinking that a team's going to play their best."
The 36-year-old
Vettori is New Zealand's most accomplished ODI bowler and on Sunday
became the 12th player and first New Zealander to reach the 300 wicket
milestone.
He
finished his 291st ODI with 302 wickets, at an average 31.62, and such
was the comprehensive nature of New Zealand's win that he did not have a
chance to add to his 2,213 ODI runs.
