DUNEDIN: Trent Boult denied an unconvincing New Zealand display against minnows Scotland on Tuesday had dented the co-hosts' reputation as genuine World Cup contenders.
Man-of-the-match Boult conceded the three-wicket win at Dunedin's University Oval was tighter than expected but said it was still "job done" for the Black Caps.
"Yeah, it got a little scarier than we wanted, I guess," the New Zealand paceman said after the Black Caps made it two wins from two Pool matches following a 98-run thrashing of Sri Lanka.
"When I'm rushing around the changing room trying to chuck the pads on it means we might be in a little bit of trouble.
"But we got there in the end. We got the points and we got the job done, so, yeah, pretty satisfying."
New Zealand dominated with the ball after Boult set the tone by taking two wickets in two deliveries but struggled with the bat, losing seven wickets in pursuit of a modest 143-run target.
The 25-year-old said New Zealand's batsmen, most of whom threw away their wickets cheaply with rash shots, would not be dwelling on their shortcomings against the unfancied Scots.
"We got the points," he said. "Let's move on to Friday (when New Zealand play England in Wellington)... we bowled well and set the game up and got through with the bat and got the result we wanted."
On his own performance, Boult said he was thrilled to have transformed himself into a limited-overs threat after initially being considered a Test-match specialist.
"Test cricket is my passion, there's no doubt about that. There's nothing better than winning a Test match with the Black Cap on," he said.
"(But) I put a lot of focus into my game with the white ball, so it's nice to be contributing and to get some accolades like I have recently is something I wasn't necessarily expecting."
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