HEADINGLEY. England. June 5 (AFP) : New Zealand v Zimbabwe player head-to-heads:

NATHAN ASTLE V NEIL JOHNSON

Astle and Johnson are having very different World Cups. Astle owes his country a big score after making the worst start to the World Cup by any top-order batsman. In five innings, the side's best one-day strokeplayer has scored 4. 5, 2, 0 and 11. His commitment to attack, always giving bowlers a chance outside the off stump, has been his downfall in English conditions favouring swing and seam bowlers.

Johnson, by contrast, has been in outstanding form. The South African-born all-rounder, who opens the batting and bowling, is riding high in both averages tables. An accomplished left-hand bat who has played for Natal and Leicestershire, Johnson has scored 156 runs - including two half centuries - at an average of 31.20. He has taken 10 wickets in 39 overs at an average of 16.90.

CHRIS HARRIS V ANDY FLOWER

. Two of the World Cup's most inventive players will both have key roles to play. Harris, a specialist one-day all-rounder, has had a good World Cup to date, especially with the ball. His awkward right-arm slow-medium have netted him eight wickets at an average of 17.12. Coming in down the order, Harris has excelled on the two occasions ne has been called on to bat, scoring 30 against the West Indies and 42 against Pakistan.

Flower, a wicket-keeping all-rounder, is averaging 45.50 with the bat after scoring 182 runs in five innings with a top score of 68 not out. Regarded as the best technical batsman in the side with a Test average of over 43. Flower quit as captain two years ago to concentrate on his wicket-keeping and batting and also dropped down to number five.

GEOFF ALLOTT V GRANT FLOWER

The irresistible will meet the immoveable when pace bowler Allott runs in to bowl to the Zimbabwean opening batsman. Allott. a left-arm medium-fast bowler with plenty of pace and bounce,, was once considered too wild for one-dayers. But the 27-year-old from Canterbury has performed superbly to become the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 15 victims costing 12.33 runs apiece after five matches,

Flower, the barnacid pf Zimbabwe's batting since it gained Test status in 1991, has had a reasonably successful World Cup to date, but is still looking for a half century after five innings. A steady right-hander, he warmed up for the World Cup with four fifties in six innings during a triangular tournament against Bangladesh and Kenya. His highest score here is 45.