The Black Caps aren't worried about their perceived "nice guys" tag affecting how they play before facing South Africa in Birmingham tomorrow night.
Since Brendon McCullum first assumed the New Zealand captaincy in 2012/13, the Black Caps have become renowned for their on-field attitudes, not engaging in any kind of sledging or bad sportsmanship.
New Zealand's example has been such that the Black Caps were even awarded the ICC's 'Spirit of Cricket Award' earlier this year.
Fronting media ahead of facing South Africa, batting coach Craig McMillan was asked as to whether his side's attitude could be seen as a disadvantage, with the aggressive nature of the likes of India and Australia more often than not leading to results on the pitch.
"I don't think so, we're just true to who we are as a people and as a nation," McMillan said.
"That's the personality of New Zealanders: We are friendly, we do get on well with people.
"We still play our cricket hard and are very competitive, but we do it in a New Zealand way. That's different to how some other teams do it, and that's fine.
"We're authentic to how we go about playing the game, and we're comfortable with that."
The Black Caps face South Africa in the Cricket World Cup in Birmingham tomorrow night.
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