One day in the life of a Black Cap
From breakfast at the hotel, to mid-game ice baths and technical analysis, all the way through to the post-game drug testing and the bus ride back home, Niall Anderson gets an inside look at how the Black Caps’ Cricket World Cup game day unfolds
A mountain of meticulous planning and preparation goes on behind the scenes to ensure the 100 overs on the field go as smoothly as possible for the Black Caps.
From the day’s start at breakfast, until everyone piles back on the bus back to the hotel, there is no stone left unturned in preparing for the game.
Here’s how the Black Caps’ game day experience unfolds.
The night before
A quiet night is on the agenda for most of the Black Caps preparing to play.
There are no curfews on tour, with the coaching staff ’s general attitude being to treat the players as adults, who, once they are at the Black Caps level, should be more than capable of making good decisions.
Game day: At the hotel
The team’s first commitment on game day is when the bus leaves, so the players and coaching staff can work to their own schedule early in the day.
Breakfast is served at the hotel, with some players preferring to head down early and eat before heading back to their room to prepare, while others will come down from their rooms ready to go, and have breakfast around 8am.
A 45 minute window is offered for physiotherapy before the team leaves for the ground. Set up in the team room, the service is mostly used by bowlers, who come in at staggered times to get their strapping done so they are ready to go by the time they arrive at the ground.
Preparation is also aided by an “early van”, which will leave for the ground around 8am. Coaches and trainers generally jump aboard, as well as a few players who may want to have an early hit-out.
Most of the Black Caps’ equipment is already at the ground, with a bagman having travelled in a separate van, to ensure the changing room is prepared well in advance.
On the bus
The Black Caps like to be at the ground 90-105 minutes before a match — with enough leeway to ensure there’s no stress if the bus gets stuck in traffic.
Music can often be heard on the bus ride — Trent Boult takes the reins of music and is also known to carry a speaker around in the changing room — but some players opt to pop in headphones and enjoy their own pregame tunes.
Cards are a popular travel choice, while the buses in England are often equipped with televisions, allowing the players to keep an eye on any other games that may be taking place — a handy luxury for travel days.
Senior players gravitate towards the back of the bus, with the juniors closer to the front and the support staff manning the seats closest to the driver.
At the ground
After arriving at the ground, the players will immediately get into their routine. Food is available if needed, though is usually more required for day-night games, while individual stretching is the first task on the agenda.
The players then move on to warm-ups, with the hybrid “football tennis” or “football-volleyball” an always-popular activity, before fielding practice, bowling warm-ups and batting throwdowns all take place around the oval.
The team will gather together around 9.40am, when coach Gary Stead and captain Kane Williamson will address the squad.
The toss
The environment is relaxed until the toss, as neither the batsmen nor bowlers know when they’ll need to be called on.
At 9.55am, Williamson will slip away early to get changed into his match kit. He receives two preprepared team sheets, checking to make sure the team has been correctly named, before handing one to the match referee, and the other to the opposing captain. At 10am, the toss is made and the players get ready for action.
If the Black Caps are batting first, the top-order batsmen will hustle off the ground into the changing rooms to prepare. If New Zealand are bowling first, then the whole team heads back to the changing rooms, although the bowlers will ensure their run-ups have been properly marked.
At 10.20am, everyone has to be ready for the national anthems, with the Black Caps support staff giving them a reminder a few minutes before to ensure punctuality. Both teams line up and head out for the anthems — the opening batsmen for the first innings already donning pans — and it’s time for the game.
During the game: The fielding innings
As the chosen XI get to work, the four players left out still have a crucial role to play. When the Black Caps are fielding, the sub fielders work with trainer Chris Donaldson to prepare the drinks, protein bars and bananas for the players out on the park, and have to be ready to serve the players if any problems arise.
After a bowler — usually a fast bowler — completes an over, one of the sub fielders or bowling coach Shane Jurgensen will meet them on the boundary with a drink, towel and any required tactical advice.
The innings break
At the World Cup, the innings break lasts only half an hour, making for a quick turnaround for the opening batsmen if they have been in the field for the first innings.
A swift stop for lunch will hastily turn into preparation to walk out to the middle, while, if having bowled first, the bowlers will immediately head for their ice baths to warm down, before grabbing a bite to eat.
If it rains
With a chance of brief interruptions for showers against South Africa, the players may have to fill time.
Some will play cards, others will kick a football around in the changing rooms, while a few take the opportunity to rest.
Plenty of tea and coffee will be consumed, while often quizzes can take place — cricket, unsurprisingly, being a popular subject.
With the players and coaches not allowed to have their phones at the ground due to anti-corruption requirements, a select group of Black Caps staffers — support staff, security, media managers and the physio — are often relied on to have a full range of weather apps on their phone to keep the team in the loop.
The batting innings
Much like Jurgensen’s boundary chats with the bowlers, similar advice is used for when the Black Caps are batting. The team’s analyst tracks every ball from the sideline, next to the coaching staff, while the incoming batsman usually sits close by, keeping an eye on the nearby television to get any extra insight as to how the ball or pitch is operating.
Post-game
As the players walk off the field, Williamson will walk over for the captain’s post-match television interview, while if a New Zealand player has won the Man of the Match award, he too will be required for a chat on television.
One player will then talk at a postmatch press conference 10-15 minutes after the final ball, before two further players will shortly after head to the “mixed zone” to talk with the assembled worldwide media.
Depending on circumstances, a player or coach may be held back for an embargoed discussion with the travelling New Zealand media, to allow the team a media-free travel day tomorrow.
Those players not on immediate media duties will either have a postgame meal, or if they’ve just bowled, kept, or spent a long time at the crease, an ice bath awaits.
Once everyone is in the same vicinity, the team will gather for a postgame review, and acknowledge any milestones, partnerships, or general standout performers.
Back to the hotel
The Black Caps like to be out of the ground 90 minutes after the final ball. While they prefer to leave as a team, sometimes drug testing can delay the process, and a vehicle can be left behind for any player who may be dehydrated or in any way delayed by post-match requirements.
The security manager will keep count of everyone’s arrival on the bus to make sure everyone is on board before the bus leaves — usually after the players have stopped for a few photos or signatures with the fans before boarding.
The next morning
The players will have breakfast as usual and sort out any remaining luggage, with an early start required so the team can get on the road for the next game.
Before they depart the hotel, the Black Caps will begin the batting and bowling scouting for their next opponent, before piling on to the bus once again, before midday. The travel day is an opportunity to relax before training the following day and the game the day after, with the players allowed some free time after arriving at the hotel in the afternoon.
Then they get ready to do it all over again.