New Zealand are calling for Kenya to be scrapped as a World Cup venue because of security concerns about the country.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said a security adviser had reported there were active terrorist groups operating in Nairobi and targeting western interests.

"Soft targets," such as cricket matches, are particularly vulnerable, said Snedden.

Kenya are due to play New Zealand in Nairobi on February 21 and Sri Lanka on February 24.

"Terrorist cells currently active and operating in Nairobi have the means and assets to carry out a terrorist attack," Snedden said.

"I would be fairly confident that the ICC will recognize that there is an unacceptable risk for players and will decide to transfer the games."

The International Cricket Council board meets on Thursday to discuss the issue.

New Zealand's star all-rounder Chris Cairns appears unlikely be unable to bowl at the World Cup.

Cairns, who has taken 154 one-day international wickets for the Black Caps, has been racing against time to recover from knee surgery.

But a side strain suffered three weeks ago has left him unable to bowl for most of the domestic season.

However, 3663 one-day runs, at a strike-rate of 81.43, make Cairns worth his place as a specialist batsman.

"Clearly he was going to be underdone anyway," chairman of selectors Sir Richard Hadlee said

"But I'm pretty relaxed about his fitness because we've got so many bowling options and he is starting to find form with the bat.

But he added: "There has been nothing specific about New Zealand cricketers at all."

Allan Donald gave the South African camp a nasty jolt when he pulled up after bowling for only 20 minutes at the opening Newlands practice.

Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing more than what coach Eric Simons described as a "very minor scare".

"The medical authorities have assured me he will be right for the World Cup as well as all our warm-up matches. He is just a little bit stiff from our activities last week at the Drakensberg training camp."

This was confirmed by physiotherapist Shane Jabaar. "He is a little bit tight in some of the muscle groups he has not used lately," he said.

England spinner Robert Croft backed his former colleagues after they urged their match in Zimbabwe be switched to South Africa.

The players remain concerned about the security situation in Zimbabwe with fears any match they play may be hijacked for protests which could spark violence.

Croft said: "Ultimately the players need to have a say."

"They've heard what everybody has to say about the issue and they are adults so it's important their views are aired."

Croft said he believes the players had no choice but to voice their concerns after being backed into a corner, following the International Cricket Council decision to declare Zimbabwe ready to host the matches.

The Welshmen pulled out of England's tour of India in 2001 together with Andy Caddick because of fears over the squad's security.

Admitting that his team had to gear up mentally for next month's World Cup after a nightmarish tour of New Zealand, India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday sent out an ominous warning to rival outfits saying "a team cannot fail to deliver everytime".

Ganguly said his team may not have played upto its potential on the recent tour of New Zealand but his boys had it in them to win the World Cup despite being in a "tough group".

"In the past also our team has played badly. Highs and lows are part of the game. But a team cannot fail to deliver every time," Ganguly said at a book release function at his residence.

Asked whether there would be any change in the batting order in view of the dismal performance in New Zealand, Ganguly said, "We will decide about the batting order only after studying the conditions in South Africa".

India are reaching South Africa 12 days before the start of the World Cup and Ganguly said "our batsmen have to utilise this time to adjust to the local conditions".

Ganguly, however, avoided a direct answer to the query about the strongest contender for the title, saying, "There are a number of contenders.

"My team has lots of potential. I am confident we will come out successful."

Michael Bevan has given Australia's World Cup stocks a massive lift by declaring yesterday he should be fit for the opening match in South Africa.

The availability of star middle-order batsman Bevan would see Australia field an almost full-strength team for their World Cup opener against Pakistan on February 11 at the Wanderers.

Despite talk of an injury crisis, only suspended batsman Darren Lehmann should be missing from the Australian team for the first match.

News of Bevan's expected early return follows the successful comeback of spin king Shane Warne and paceman Jason Gillespie after injury.

And pace spearhead Glenn McGrath believes he could have played had there been a third one-day final against England yesterday.

England's controversial match against Zimbabwe in Harare next month could be moved to a different venue "almost overnight", World Cup chief Ali Bacher said on Monday.

England's players released a statement on Monday requesting that the February 13 fixture be switched to South Africa because of the deteriorating political situation in Zimbabwe.

"I'm sure the England (and Wales) Cricket Board (ECB) and the International Cricket Council will give their sentiments every consideration," said Bacher.

"Any ultimate decision is the responsibility of the ICC, who own the event. If a request came from the ICC (to move the match), we would be easily able to accomodate that request," he said.

While English cricket players have pleaded publicly to have their World Cup match in Zimbabwe moved, Australia was pressing on with plans to play there.

England's Professional Cricketers' Association made an "urgent request" on behalf of the England players in London for their match against Zimbabwe on February 13 to be shifted from Harare to South Africa.

It followed warnings received from Zimbabwean activists to the England team in Australia and reports that opposition groups would use the England match to demonstrate against President Robert Mugabe's regime.

However, Australian Cricket Board chief executive James Sutherland said he'd learned of no new security risk which would prevent the Australian team playing its match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on February 24.

"As far as we can gather in the reports that we've had, there's no material change in the conditions that we found when we had the security delegation there in late November," said Sutherland today.

South Africa cannot beat Australia in cricket so it has tried to join it by stealing Steve Waugh's victorious campaign slogan from the last World Cup.

In another sign of how the cricket world tends to copy Australia, Shaun Pollock's side will use the motto "no regrets" as its battle cry as it prepares to challenge for the Cup on home soil from early next month.

Waugh wrote those words on a piece of cardboard and placed it above the door in the team bus during the 1999 campaign and later used the same title for his tour diary.

He told his players: "You just have to give it your best shot and muster up as much courage as you can, or you can walk away, say it's too tough and leave it to someone else and not really give it 100 per cent concentration."

South Africa's players have been bonding, clearing their heads before they attempt to make amends for shooting themselves in the foot twice against Australia in 1999. They are second favourites behind Australia in cup betting.

The Proteas spent three days orienteering, white-water rafting, bike riding, golfing, drumming and hearing nice words from a psychologist late last week as Australia took care of England in the finals of the tri-series.

When a few optimistic, determined and dedicated Namibians decided to rebuild the structure of cricket in their country in 1998, they set 2007 and the World Cup finals in the West Indies as their ultimate goal.

It was a 10-year plan that even they felt would take some achieving. The fact that it has been attained four years earlier still forces many involved in Namibian cricket to pinch themselves in disbelief.

The euphoria of World Cup qualification inevitably led to high expectations in the months before the tournament, though supporters and players alike were given a nasty dose of reality when the Namibians competed -- or rather did not -- in South Africa's domestic one-day competition.

All five games they played were lost heavily with the Namibians posting a score in excess of 150 just once. Association president Laurie Peters conceded the problem would have to be addressed.

"All the players were so desperate to do well that they froze. Some how we will have to learn to relax because we are a better team than we showed in South Africa. We don't want to be embarrassed during the World Cup and I'm fairly confident we won't be," Peters said.

Concerned about increasing violence in Guyana, Australian cricket officials have asked for assurances about their team's safety during the first leg of a Caribbean tour in April, officials said today.

Guyana has seen an explosion in violent crime in the past year. In 2002, there were more than 150 murders, four times the number as in the year before. Since February, 19 law enforcement officers have been murdered, compared to just seven over the 20 years previous.

The Australian Cricket Board sent a letter to the Antigua-based West Indies Cricket Board last week expressing concerns about the violence, said Chetram Singh, a member of the West Indies board.

The letter was passed on to Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj, said Singh, who is also president of the Guyana Cricket Board.

Gajraj did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

The Australians begin their tour of the West Indies in Guyana on April 1, and will play four Test matches and five limited-over encounters against the West Indies. The first Test starts April 10 following a three-day match against a Guyana Board Eleven.

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