Kiwis calm in wake of Lions

Daniel Vettori will not play at the Rose Bowl © Getty Images

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New Zealand are aiming to settle their nerves prior to next week’s first Test at Lord’s by claiming a timely victory over England Lions in their final warm-up match at the Rose Bowl.

A first visit to the home of cricket is normally a nerve-tingling experience for most tourists, which either inspires them to greater heights or can prompt them to freeze when confronted with the crowd and traditions of Lord’s.

Captain Daniel Vettori, who will sit out the four-day match at the Rose Bowl with an injury to his left index finger, has already anticipated the effect of Lord’s on his squad and the impact it may have on their performance.

But he believes victory over England’s Lions in quick succession after their triumph over Essex would be the perfect tonic and help New Zealand overcome the nerves associated with their Lord’s experience.

“The quality of the opposition (in this match) is very high so it’s not a case of us being able to meander through a warm-up game and expect to get a result,” said Vettori, who remains confident of being fit enough to take his place at Lord’s.

“We have to treat this seriously. There’s still a lot of competition for Test places. Even though you’d probably say the majority of the team is set in stone for the Test, I still want guys to have that hunger to perform because it’s not that easy just to switch it on for a Test match.

“There are going to be a lot of other things going on when we arrive at Lord’s, it will be busy and it’ll be exciting and if you don’t have form under your belt sometimes you can be a little overwhelmed by it.”

Kyle Mills is being rested for the clash © Getty Images

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England’s Lions include several players desperate to break into the Test squad with captain Robert Key, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara all vying for recognition in the top order should the present incumbents fail to deliver in the first Test.

Their bowling attack is also impressive. Yorkshire’s Matthew Hoggard, who has claimed 10 wickets in two first-class matches this season, is included alongside Chris Tremlett with both attempting to force their way back into the reckoning.

New Zealand would have fielded their strongest possible line-up, but were forced to overlook Vettori, while seamer Kyle Mills has been given a break to try and curtail the size of his workload during this tour.

“We’ve given Kyle Mills a break in this game and he’s in the front-running for the Test line-up but apart from him we’d have fielded a Test line-up with myself included, but unfortunately that’s not the case,” explained Vettori.

“It still gives our top six a chance, which is probably the crucial element for us. It gives them another two innings’ and hopefully some form before the first Test.”

At least the tourists can bank on some serious practice over the next four days with Hoggard desperate to reclaim the place he lost after England’s opening Test defeat in Hamilton.

“It’s important to him that he puts on a performance here and tries to get his Test place back and I know within our team he’s a highly respected bowler,” added Vettori.

“We’ll respect what he’s trying to do and it will be good preparation having a guy with over 250 Test wickets in the bowling line-up, so it’s not a case of first-class bowlers trying to break through - it’s a proven Test bowler.”