John Wright hopes New Zealand won't be rusty for too long © Getty Images Enlarge
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John Wright, the New Zealand coach, has said that not having a proper build-up to a tour could be problematic but it was increasingly becoming the modern way. New Zealand will leave for the Caribbean on June 24 to play two Twenty20s in Florida, and five ODIs and two Tests in the West Indies. They have not had a formal camp prior to departure and will not have any warm-up games either before the limited-overs matches.

"That's the modern environment," Wright told the New Zealand Herald. "It is a little bit problematic. We'll be in Miami for about five days and we've really got to hit the ground running, and hope there are no hiccups. You just have to practice with a bit of purpose under good conditions and mentally you can do quite a lot."

New Zealand have not played since hosting South Africa in February and March, and Wright said he expected his side to make a rusty start against West Indies, because his players have had little time to practice as a unit. "There's a lot of cricket coming up for these boys so they'll go in fresh but they may be a bit rusty early on and we probably have to expect that.

"It's just the expectations of getting the mind ready to play, trusting yourselves, being positive and having confidence," he said. "Resources are tight and we've got to accept that and get on with it. We'll work together, fight hard and endeavour to get the right results."

New Zealand's fast bowlers, currently in Brisbane for a camp, are the only ones who have trained together before the tour. The batsmen have been doing their own thing, with Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson playing county cricket, Kruger van Wyk playing in Scotland and Dean Brownlie playing in Perth.

The tour of the Caribbean will be Wright's last as New Zealand coach and he hoped his tenure would finish well. After the West Indies, New Zealand will head to India in August, before playing the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September and touring South Africa in December.

Edited by Carlyle Laurie