The BLACKCAPS play their first of two Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in the USA on Sunday (NZ time) and today the Kiwi players had the opportunity to have a glimpse of the ground.
Ross Taylor had an opportunity to step out onto the oval at Central Broward Regional Park, the only international cricket venue in North America. “It’s been good seeing it. I’ve seen it in photos, but it’s nice to get outside and do some specific skills,” he said.
The teams haven’t had a look at the wicket yet, however Taylor is confident it will be up to scratch. “It’s under covers at the moment. There’s a New Zealand groundsman here looking after it and preparing it,” he said. “To be honest we don’t know what to expect, but it should be a decent Twenty20 wicket.”
Sri Lanka comes into the USA based games after being knocked out by England in the semi-final stage of the ICC World Twenty20 competition. Taylor believes the teams are evenly matched and Sri Lanka will be hard to beat, despite the BLACKCAPS winning their last three Twenty20 encounters. “They are a world class side in all forms of the game,” Taylor said. “But they will be disappointed to have been knocked out by England. They’ll want to knock us off in the next couple of games and hopefully we can play some good cricket as well.”
The BLACKCAPS have been in Florida for just over a week and many have experienced the American way of life by enjoying a baseball game and relaxing. “We’ve been focusing on our fitness each morning then lots of activities in the afternoon. I’ve played some golf, been shopping and resting up. But I’m looking forward to getting into doing specific cricket things,” he concluded.
22/05/2010 - BLACKCAPS vs Sri Lanka - Twenty20 International
Central Broward Regional Park, Florida
+1d, NZ 7:30am
23/05/2010 - BLACKCAPS vs Sri Lanka - Twenty20 International
Central Broward Regional Park, Florida
+1d, NZ 4:00am
