The BLACKCAPS landed at Harare International airport on Wednesday ahead of their tour of Zimbabwe.
The tour comprises two Twenty20, three One-Day International matches and a one-off Test Match at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
BLACKCAPS captain Ross Taylor is confident his team can come out on top in what will be a challenging series.
“We are glad to be here in Zimbabwe. We are coming here to win and it’s going to be a tough series, they [Zimbabwe] played very well against Bangladesh and Pakistan but we are still expecting to win,” said Taylor as he addressed journalists at Harare International Airport.
He also acknowledged some of the home side’s main performers and the need for his team to apply a lot of pressure on them if they are to be victorious.
“The likes of Hamilton Masakadza, Taibu and Brendan Taylor have a lot of experience at international level. Brendan being captain - a new captain just like me - will probably be under pressure in his home country so that will be good for us.
"Our bowlers will have to put them under pressure and see how they respond,” he said.
The New Zealand captain also spoke about the different weather conditions between Zimbabwe and New Zealand and that he will rely on some members of his team who were part of the 2010 New Zealand A squad that toured the country in September.
“We’ve just come from three days in Pretoria (South Africa). It is nice to have acclimatised to the altitude. It has been a long winter for a lot of players; it is a lot cooler back home in New Zealand so it’s nice to get a bit of sun on our backs.
"It’s my first trip here but there are a lot of guys who have got experience in the conditions. We are lucky that the New Zealand A team came last year and a lot of the players who were in that side are here,” said Taylor.
The teams will play their first Twenty20 match on Saturday the 15th of October at 2.00pm local time, 1.00am NZ time.
The Twenty20 Squads
BLACKCAPS: Ross Taylor (capt), Graeme Aldridge, Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (Captain); Charles Coventry; Chamunorwa Chibhabha; Elton Chigumbura; Kyle Jarvis; Hamilton Masakadza; Keegan Meth; Christopher Mpofu; Natsai M’shangwe; Forster Mutizwa; Raymond Price; Vusimuzi Sibanda; Tatenda Taibu; Prosper Utseya; and Malcolm Waller.
