England all set to cap their winter of recovery

The non-return of captain Nasser Hussain from Ben Hollioake's funeral in Perth, due to delays in his flights, and the influenza suffered by Mark Butcher were the only minor concerns in the England camp before tomorrow's third National Bank Test in Auckland.

Hussain was to arrive back this afternoon and catch up with a net session of his own at Eden Park.

Butcher was not expected to be in any doubt for consideration in the Test.

The England team had what coach Duncan Fletcher as a very fitting memorial service for Hollioake on the Bastion Point reserve which overlooks Auckland harbour yesterday which he said was very well done.

He was delighted on the eve of the last assignment for his side over a long winter that there was still a good deal of enthusiasm in the side.

The side's team spirit had been tested under the pressure of Hollioake's death and it had come through well.

There were players who had been weary as the result of the side's playing programme but Fletcher said no-one had ever complained to him of tiredness, rather he had noted players looked weary and had discussed that with them. But he was emphatic that no-one had ever claimed tiredness.

He did say that the programme leading up to the World Cup in South Africa next year was an intensive one and it would be difficult for any player to play in every match of that programme.

"Even in the England summer it is going to be very difficult from here on in. I mean, you finish the final Test against India and within two days you fly to Colombo. That means it is very hard," he said.

Fletcher pointed out again that even while England was playing at home during their summer they were still on tour.

"If we were away on tour, you would rest them from a friendly game between Tests which people don't seem to grasp. There's so much cricket on when we get back to England it's just a tour at home - that's all the difference is," he said.

It was also a case that the selectors would have to start working on a programme of using players at specific times of the season.

He described it as being along the lines of a rotation system.

Asked if he had enough players to do something like that he said you could never be happy until you were on top of everything.

He did feel the side was moving forward, albeit slowly.

"I know some people would like it a bit quicker but when you look at how we started out this winter and how we were criticised as a weak side in India and a weak side down in New Zealand and you have a look at our results, we haven't done too badly for a weak side," he said.

It was very important for England to win the series as a measure of what it had come from this winter.

"It has been a very good winter as far as we have been concerned, with the young, inexperienced side that we have had to be 1-0 up, territory we have never been in before.

"We played really well in that second Test. We had the better of that game by a long way and it is just important that we carry on at that momentum," he said.