NZ head coach Gary Stead admitted it has been “frustrating” for his players to see rain jeopardise their crucial outdoor practice sessions ahead of the two-match Test series in England against the hosts.
The Kiwis are based at Rose Bowl, Southampton, since their arrival in the UK, but haven’t had much practice time despite coming out of their three-day quarantine period because of the bad weather. Of course, New Zealand players aren’t entirely short of preparation since they had taken part in a couple of pre-tour camps back home.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating, because you come over and guys just want to get a feel for the different conditions here,”
“I guess when you come to an English summer you still expect to get outside occasionally. We’ve been lucky with the buildup we had in New Zealand. We trained on grass wickets, we had two camps as well. So it’s not like we’re miles behind or anything like that.”
Stead was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Tuesday.
“It’s just a little bit different when you’ve got a bigger squad and stuff as well, with 20-odd players here, to manage their expectations when you’re indoors is a little bit more difficult.
But something that I guess we try and pride ourselves on is our ability to just roll with the punches and keep adapting to what’s in front of us,”
he added.
The Black Caps were scheduled to play a three-day intra-squad practice game ahead of the two-Test series versus England, beginning June 2 at Lord’s. Due to torrid rains, however, that has been reduced to a two-day contest, with Stead’s aim being to get his players to train on the field for two days.
But the Kiwis also have a couple of happy news before proceeding with their difficult tour. The contingent, including skipper Kane Williamson, that left for the Maldives after the suspension of IPL 2021 on May 4, has been able to join the rest of the squad in England earlier than expected.
Experienced paceman Trent Boult is also likely to be available for the second Test against England, starting June 10 in Edgbaston. Boult had opted to travel home directly from India after the premature end of IPL 2021 but will be able to return to action on time ahead of the WTC final, starting June 18.
