It's cold. But not a bad cold

Hi everyone,

We arrived in New Zealand last week Wednesday and so far it has been good. Everyone has recovered from jet lag and we have had lots of practice sessions leading up to Friday’s games. The guys are all working hard in the gym as well with plenty of stretching.

It’s much colder here in New Zealand, but not a bad cold. We are using our tracksuit tops in practice and we are making sure to move around a lot. Some days it’s hot, and others it’s cold but overall everyone is adapting quite well. The team has been gelling quite well too – everyone is getting on well with each other and looking out for each other in training.

The first practice match is on Friday against Auckland. The coach had a good talk with us and everyone is focused on taking this match very seriously. We are going to focus on areas that we need to get right – batting, fielding and bowling, as well as each player focusing hard on their individual game.

So far, I’ve been working hard on improving my own game. I’m concentrating hard on batting and wicketkeeping to raise my game and be a permanent fixture in the team.

Christmas isn’t far away so I’m looking forward to that too. This is my second Christmas in a row away from home – last year I was in South Africa – but we’ll all be celebrating together, either with a big Christmas lunch or dinner.