Brendon McCullum insists he won't let the favourites tag force New Zealand into their shells ahead of tomorrow's ICC Cricket World Cup Quarter-Final against the West Indies.
The Kiwis won six from six in the group stages of the competition and McCullum is vowing that his side will entertain the audience again in the last eight fixture in Wellington, which gets underway tomorrow at 1am UK time.
"I think it's safe to assume that we'll still try to play an entertaining and attacking brand of cricket," McCullum said.
“We want to play that brand of cricket. That is what's going to make us tough to beat and I can't see that changing.
"Just because there's pressure on a game, it shouldn't take you away from what's your best opportunity to win.
"The brand of cricket we've played has really captivated New Zealand and is starting to make people around the world sit up and take notice of how we go about our work.
"It's a big game, but we'll go out there and enjoy the moment, enjoy the stage that we'll be presented and a full house at Wellington and hopefully we perform accordingly."
McCullum and the Kiwis are refusing to be distracted by conjecture over Chris Gayle's involvement after the left-hander missed the final group fixture with a back injury.
"I don't think it changes things too much because we expected him to play anyway," McCullum said. "He's obviously a world-class player and destructive on his day.
"The West Indies team are stacked with match-winners, not just Chris but many other guys in their line-up."
McCullum's opposite number, Jason Holder, insists the West Indies have what it takes to win, with or without their talismanic left-hander.
"Chris is out playing this morning," he said. "He's had an injection, nothing major. We'll see how he pulls up today and make a decision tomorrow morning.
"He's one of the most feared batsmen in world cricket, so to have Chris on my squad is a plus for anybody in a sense.
"We won the last game without him so I can't say we can't win without him. He's been a very good player for us over the years. But it's shown that we've got people to fit the bill.
"People pretty much wrote us off at the beginning of the tournament. They didn't expect us to get to the quarter-final stage and now we're here.
"We're just going out all guns blazing and giving it our all.
"New Zealand can be beaten. We beat them in the last series when we played them and we will be looking to beat them again."
Trent Bridge hosts the fourth Royal London One-Day International between England and New Zealand on Wednesday 17 June. Don't miss the chance to watch England seek redemption against the Kiwis and secure your seat now.