Zimbabwe won the toss and bowl | BLACKCAPS play four seamers »
Ahead of the Test match against Zimbabwe, BLACKCAPS captain Ross Taylor is asking his team to look forward and not bask in the glory of the famous win over Australia in Hobart.
“We have to build on the momentum we gained from the Hobart Test match,” said Taylor. "We don’t want to dine off that for years to come. “
“We want to get consistent performances and there’s no better place to start than at home here in Napier.”
“We’re going out to win. We’re not often the favourites when it comes to Test cricket. We’re going out there to win but we need to do the basics well and build on the fighting spirit we showed in Hobart.”
The McLean Park pitch has been a talking point this week with a greener look to the traditionally batter friendly strip.
“There’s a lot more grass on than normal,” said Taylor. “It might seam a little bit but not excessively. I think it will be bouncier than the more traditional Napier wickets.
“I know Phil (Stoyanoff, groundsman) and he wants to get more results. It has been too flat here, even for the four-day matches, and he wants to produce results wickets. I’m sure the bowlers will be looking forward to bowling out there."
Taylor confirmed that BJ Watling will take the wicketkeeping gloves in the match and said although uncapped Wells will make the 12 they are looking go into the match with a four-prong pace attack.
“We’re going in with 12 cricketers with Kruger left out. Sam Wells is still an option but we are likely to go in with four seamers,” Taylor added.
One-off Test
BLACKCAPS v Zimbabwe
McLean Park, Napier
10.30am start
