The Black Caps have a great chance to make the final of the Champions Trophy.

The wicket will be the most interesting factor for the punters putting money on the match. The wicket could either be a featherbed or what we have seen in the match against England. I would definitely favour us on a tough one but if it is flat it becomes more down to which batters fire on the day.
Playing any sub-continental side on a featherbed is very difficult. Especially with the likes of Afridi opening for Pakistan it makes playing these sides extremely difficult.
If we play them on a slightly dodgy one, we would be the better bet. This is for two reasons.
Firstly, Kiwis have from a young age played on up-and-down wickets. Our technique and skill level suffer from it, but we do develop the ability to play in these conditions.
I made this comment to Ashley Ross about our pitches (top level bio mechanic, Aussie) when he was the batting coach for NZ Cricket. He stressed to us that the best method to defend your wicket is actually to leave the ball if it is missing your stumps. I said that is true but I have been bowled leaving a ball 60cm wide of off-stump so this does theory change in NZ.
His reply, "No it doesn't, you guys just have to improve your damn wickets if you want to compete internationally."
So what I am saying is we have an ingrained ability to bat on difficult pitches. This is less so for the sub-continent sides where it rains less so pitch preparation can be easier.

The second and very important reason is bounce in the wicket.

The sub-continent sides are used to the ball bouncing much less. Their wickets actually bounce below stump height for many short balls. This produces different skills and methods to score. Kane Williamson commented how different it was to score runs in India. Not difficult, just that you score in different areas. So when Mills and co. bowl in say Sri Lanka or India they can look pedestrian simply because there is no bounce or pace. But put them on a wicket with normal bounce and their ability can shine through. Talking to Sanjeev Sharma in India, he said that Indian seamers try to cut the ball or get reverse swing in their conditions. They don't try to whack it in like we do as there is not the necessary bounce.

Hence in South Africa, where there is generally more bounce, I would expect the BC's to do well.

The problem for the BC's is that when they likely play Australia in the final the Aussie boys also love the ball bouncing. They are generally natural back foot players. This means you can't bowl short and so have to bowl fuller. The Aussies wait on the full ones and then smash you down the ground.

In local cricket we see the first round of Bay Cricket. Cadets v Te Puke at Te Puke will be a huge match. There are stars in both sides with Kane Willaimson the biggest of them all in his first game for Te Puke. Ben Williams will expect much of his young side with his seamers and batting leading from the front.
Veteran seamer Campbell Wilson will look to get into Te Puke early to give Cadets a chance at chasing a decent score. Matthew Drake and Jono Boult will be tough for the Te Puke seamers.
Greerton play TBC in an interesting match. TBC have a new look side with plenty of young talent such as Joe Carter and Sean Davies. Murray Jarvis is likely to be dangerous on the early season wickets as is their new star Te Ahu Davis.
The Mount travel to Ohope to play Whakatane United. This will be a great chance for Whakatane to ambush the very strong Mount side. James Mitchell and Alex Yates are very talented cricketers who could turn the match in Whakatane's favour if the Mount don't show up.