BLACKCAPS batsman Ross Taylor says it is time to move on from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and begin preparing for the upcoming Test series against England.
New Zealand, who made history by making the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup, officially began their preparation today with their first training at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Seven players – captain Brendon McCullum, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan and Kane Williamson – will reunite with the team once they have completed their IPL commitments.
Taylor, who boasts a world-class Test average of 45, can’t wait to get back into action.
“We did have a great six or seven weeks back home but it is time to move on a little bit,” he said.
“It was a great experience that I am sure all of the boys will remember for a long time. It is good to be in a different country and to be playing a different form of the game helps. England is always a great place to tour, we have had some success over here but it is always tough playing England in their home conditions and we are expecting nothing less.”
The BLACKCAPS were beaten convincingly in 2013 when England won the Test series 2-0 but Taylor believes this side will be better for that experience.
“The team have got a lot more experience than last time we were here,” he said.
“Both Tim and Trent had good tours in 2013 and we still lost the Test series. We are much more hardened than we were last time but there is still a long way to go. Hopefully these warm up games will get us into a bit of a groove and we can put England under some pressure in that First Test.”
The BLACKCAPS will play warm up games against Somerset and Worcestershire in the next two weeks and Taylor said they will important for getting familiar with the English conditions and the Duke ball.
He expected the home side will be even more pumped up after losing the final Test to square the series against the West Indies.
“They will have even more motivation coming off a loss against the West Indies and we know that we will have to be at our best to be competitive.”
Taylor downplayed the notion that the BLACKCAPS will be behind the eight ball with the players with IPL commitments coming into England only days before the First Test.
“It is not ideal obviously but it is the way cricket is these days. We had the same situation in the West Indies last year and the players that came in from the IPL played their part in a Test win there so hopefully they can do the same when it comes to the First Test here at Lord’s.
“They are all playing a lot of cricket and I am sure they will be ready to go come the morning of the First Test.”
He is sure that the guys who were involved in the emphatic eight wicket win over England during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 would take huge self-belief from that result.
“I am sure that Tim Southee will take a huge amount of confidence from that performance, but it is a totally different format and they have some world class players who come into their Test team so we can’t read too much into that.”
As he says it’s time to move on. The BLACKCAPS are ready to get into their whites and get ready for the highly anticipated Test series.
The BLACKCAPS begin their tour of England with a warm up match against Somerset in Taunton from Friday.
