NZ skipper eyes big finale for little guys

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori dismissed suggestions Saturday that reaching the World Cup semi-finals should be the limit of his team's ambitions, reports AFP. "I look at it as an achievement for a country so small that we make so many semi-finals. That's a better way to look at it for a country of four million people," he said. "People may put negative stamps on it but I think it's an achievement for a country like ours." New Zealand came from behind to upset South Africa by 49 runs in Friday's quarter-final at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium, their fourth win over the fancied rivals in six World Cup encounters. Vettori's men, restricted to 221-8 after taking first strike in the day-night match, bundled out South Africa for 172 in an exciting finish. Jacob Oram was New Zealand's man of the match with four wickets and two catches, while off-spinner Nathan McCullum claimed three for 24 from 10 overs. Skipper Graeme Smith (28) and Jacques Kallis (47) helped South Africa reach 108-2 by the 24th over, before the last eight wickets crashed for 64 runs. It will be New Zealand's sixth appearance in the semi-finals, where they await the winners of Saturday's match between Sri Lanka and England in Colombo. "I think the reputation we have is that we can beat any team on a given day," said Vettori. "But consistency has avoided us a lot of the time, so it's our big chance in the semi-finals to go one or two better."