Full house expected for New Zealand fundraiser

Christchurch, starved of international cricket since Nathan Astle's record-breaking Test double-century against England early in 2002, seems set to embrace the fundraising nature of the first one-day match between New Zealand and Shane Warne's World XI at Jade Stadium tomorrow.

Reports are that a near full-house is expected - that would be around 34,000 people. Weather conditions in Christchurch over the past week have been outstanding, and temperatures of around 30 degrees are expected for the game.

While the World XI has not had the advantage of playing together - the Australian members only arrived today - the New Zealanders are wary of their latent potential, including the brilliant drawcard of seeing the world's two most successful spinners, Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan bowling in tandem.

The New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has said that his side is not under-rating the opposition despite their unorthodox preparation, because they are all outstanding performers who, on their day, are capable of putting the pressure on any side. They might have a bad day and be bowled out for 200, he said - but they could equally give 350 runs a nudge in the right circumstances.

Fleming felt his team needed to hold their focus on maintaining the progress they had made in one-day cricket over the last 12 months - and also working on some match situations for future benefit.

The main object of having high-pressure games before the Australians arrive for their series in mid-February has not been forgotten, and New Zaland are keen to warm up for that series.

Warne, meanwhile, re-emphasised the reason for the series by saying the events of Boxing Day had hit home to him just how lucky he was to be living in Australia and to have been able to do so well out of cricket. He said that anything he could do to ease the suffering of those affected by the tsunami that devastated the coast of Sri Lanka and other parts of the Asian rim of the Indian Ocean was worthwhile.

Warne added that Sri Lanka held a special place in his affections because that was where he made his first contribution to a Test victory with the Australians in 1992, and it was also where he claimed his 500th Test wicket. Warne said that the now-devastated ground at Galle had always been a significant place in his career.

Warne said that he was looking forward to bowling with Muralitharan, quipping that he was at least assured of the best end to bowl from because he was the captain. He also commented on rumours that he would return to international one-day cricket, saying that, rising 36, he couldn't be more retired than he already is, having passed his ODI shirt number on to Michael Clarke.

New Zealand 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Hamish Marshall, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Chris Cairns, 7 Brendon McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Jeff Wilson, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

World XI (probable) 1 Nick Knight, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Craig Spearman, 4 Graeme Hick, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Jonty Rhodes, 7 Ian Harvey, 8 Lance Klusener, 9 Heath Streak, 10 Shane Warne (capt), 11 Chaminda Vaas.