Cricket World Cup: Steve Smith set to slide down Australia's order for clash against New Zealand

Australia captain Pat Cummins insists Steve Smith is willing to drop down the batting order at the Cricket World Cup.

The Aussies meet New Zealand in Dharamsala on Saturday boosted by three consecutive wins and closer to playing a full-strength team than at any other time in the tournament.

Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis could both return after missing the record 309-run victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Head has yet to feature in the tournament after fracturing his left hand six weeks ago, and his potential return opening the batting alongside David Warner would see Mitchell Marsh drop to three and Smith pushed down to four.

Asked about Smith – who had said about dropping to four: "I've got a pretty good record at three, so I was a bit shocked in a way" – at his pre-match press conference, Cummins was unequivocal

He said: "I think he said himself, he'll do whatever is best for the team.

"Trav’s been amazing (at the top of the order) over the last 12 months. Mitch Marsh at the top has been amazing. Davey Warner's obviously a superstar up there.

"We think that's the best way to set up the team and we're really excited with how the batting line-up looks like.

"We all do some roles that maybe is not your preference, but it's what's best for the team so it's fine."

Australia have recovered from heavy opening defeats to India and South Africa to launch themselves into semi-final contention.

Beating New Zealand would put them in a strong position to make the last four ahead of closing group games against England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Cummins said: "Our group's big on talking about the style that we want to play.

"I think in the first two games not only did we not win, but I think we didn't really nail the style that we wanted to play.

"In the last few games you've seen us be a bit more aggressive batting and bowling. It's been a fantastic last few games and that's a standard we want to keep going with for the rest of the tournament."

After opening with four victories, New Zealand are seeking to bounce back from their first defeat of the competition to India and this week visited the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, at his home in Dharamsala.

Black Caps skipper Tom Latham said: "It was obviously a cool experience for the group to head up there and meet the Dalai Lama.

"We had a few days off and the opportunity of being so close came up, it was a special time to visit the monastery."

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