Testing schedule
Black Caps eye 21 days of history
The Black Caps are about to embark on their most intense stretch of test cricket in almost five years, as they seek their first series win in England since 1999, and a triumph in the World Test Championship final against India.
From the start of the first test against England at Lord’s on June 2 to the fifth day of the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl on June 22, there are just 21 days.
The Black Caps haven’t played three tests in the space of three weeks since they were in India in October 2016, losing 3-0, and before that, since they hosted the West Indies in December 2013, winning 2-0, though they did play three in the space of 22 days against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in 2018, winning 2-1.
When they have played three tests in quick succession – which isn’t often, given their regular diet of two-match home series – they’ve typically been spread over four weeks, allowing their hardest workers, their seam bowlers, to rest and avoid rotation. Consistency of selection has also been a hallmark during the test team’s extended period of success, which stretches back to 2013.
But given what lies ahead – and in particular, the significance of the WTC final – head coach Gary Stead and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen are keeping open minds when it comes to managing their charges.
‘‘The way the coaches and I are sort of talking about it at the moment is working backwards from the main event and putting some plans in place, but then also having that flexibility that if things don’t quite go right, or we need to adjust, that we can,’’ Stead told the Sunday Star-Times.
‘‘Everyone wants to play in all the test matches. We just need to be sure that it’s the right thing for all of our players, so we haven’t come to an absolute decision on that, and we’ll keep talking with the players around what we’re thinking when we get closer to that time and we’ll see how they go in the next couple of weeks of trainings.’’
The Black Caps arrived at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton earlier this week to begin their preparations and Stead said managing bowling loads was the something the staff were worried about looking ahead.
‘‘I think it’s something that you’re always cognisant of and aware of.
‘‘We want to make sure that when we do come to the 18th of June [the start of the WTC final], we have bowlers that are fresh, but also, sometimes bowlers need a little bit of time to find their rhythm and stuff as well.
‘‘We’ll just be talking with each of our players around that and seeing where they’re at and probably won’t make a call until after that first test of what we think is actually right for the players that we think will play in the final as well.’’
The Black Caps are set to be without one of their frontline seamers, Trent Boult, for at least the first of those three tests. The left-armer was due to leave managed isolation in New Zealand today, after returning from India when the Indian Premier League was suspended at the start of May.
Jurgensen indicated he was set to ‘‘bowl for a week’’ at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui before jetting off to link up with his team-mates ahead of the second test at Edgbaston, which starts on June 10.
‘‘One of the things that I’ve been doing since we’ve been restricted to our rooms for these first few days is planning out each bowler’s preparation,’’ Jurgensen said.
‘‘That’s something that we do for every tour and this is no different.
‘‘With Trent, he’s been bowling away in isolation, albeit in his hotel room – I’ve received the odd Snapchat of him bowling, so he has been – then he’s going to go to Bay Oval under the marquee there and have a few overs specifically in terms of preparing for test cricket, and then he’ll be over here.’’
Boult’s absence at Lord’s means there will be at least one change to the XI that beat Pakistan at Hagley Oval at the start of the year, and there is likely to be another, with Devon Conway in line to replace Tom Blundell at the top of the order, if the sight of him facing the new ball alongside established opener Tom Latham during an open wicket practice at the team’s recent camp in Lincoln is anything to go by.
Fellow seamer Neil Wagner should return in place of Boult after missing that match due to injury, with most of the remaining intrigue around the injury statuses of Ross Taylor, who has been recovering from a calf
strain, and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme, who is on the comeback trail after surgery on an ankle issue and is ‘‘tracking slightly ahead of where we thought he might be,’’ according to Stead.
There is also the possibility they might deviate from using four seamers and a seam-bowling allrounder, as they have on four occasions during their current six-match winning streak, and play a spinner – with Mitchell Santner the leading contender to come in.
‘‘I think that’s something we will always commit to, that if we need to adjust and play a different player because the surface dictates that, then we’ll certainly do that,’’ Stead said.
‘‘We’re not so planned in advance that we have teams mapped out, and we know who will play in each one right now.’’
The bulk of the Black Caps will ramp things up ahead of their three-day intra-squad match that begins on Wednesday.
The WTC final will be India’s first test since their win over England at home at the start of March.