Match starts 1330 GMT Friday
| By Martin Gough |
England and New Zealand meet on Friday for the fifth time this year, but both teams know their first match of the World Cup will be the most important. 
The sides shared two games each during the recent one-day series in Australia.
"It is going to be huge for us in the context of the World Cup," said England vice-captain Andrew Flintoff ahead of the game in St Lucia.
"The two sides are pretty similar in terms of the make-up. It could be a great and intriguing contest."
Leading batsman Kevin Pietersen missed the previous games against the Black Caps with a fractured rib but will be just one of the players who could turn the game England's way.
"England will be confident and having Kevin Pietersen back helps a lot - not a lot of us have played against him," said New Zealand's Daniel Vettori.
"You realise he's an integral part of the England set-up but Flintoff commands a massive amount of respect and Paul Collingwood is in form."
Collingwood, who scored a century in his last match against the Kiwis, could also play a part with the ball.
And Vettori believes medium-pacers like Scott Styris and Craig McMillan could also prosper on the slow surface.
Kenya triumphed on the same ground on Wednesday, using three spinners to stifle Canada on their way to a seven-wicket win.
"With Kenya-Canada, everything came to a standstill once the spinners came on. They played a huge part and were pretty effective all the way through," said Vettori.
"I don't think it's just going to be the front-line spinners but the part-timers playing their part as well."
Both sides have injury worries, although New Zealand insist they have 14 players to pick from.
Bowler Mark Gillespie has been ruled out with a virus, which has caused neck and shoulder problems.
But Peter Fulton and Jacob Oram (broken fingers) and Craig McMillan (bruised toe) are both available for selection.
England gave an extensive fitness test to James Anderson, who fractured a finger on his right hand on Wednesday.
Management reported that he came through it without any discomfort and will make a final decision in the morning on whether he will play.
However, they may decide not to risk him, as England do not face Test opposition again until the second round, starting in a fortnight's time.
If Anderson does not play, seamers Jon Lewis or Sajid Mahmood could take his place, while batsmen Andrew Strauss and Ravi Bopara look likely to miss out on selection.
England (from): M Vaughan (capt), J Anderson, I Bell, R Bopara, P Collingwood, J Dalrymple, A Flintoff, E Joyce, J Lewis, S Mahmood, P Nixon (wkt), M Panesar, K Pietersen, L Plunkett, A Strauss.
New Zealand (from): S Fleming (capt), S Bond, J Franklin, P Fulton, M Mason, B McCullum (wkt), C McMillan, J Oram, J Patel, S Styris, R Taylor, D Tuffey, D Vettori, L Vincent.
Umpires: R Koertzen (SA) and B Doctrove (WI)
