New Zealand magic over, time to cast a spell with England

Even after the two victories against Auckland in the state competition we weren't allowed to sit back and rest; there were still things to be worked on in training.

Before the rest of the squad arrived I battled the wind to complete an interval session. After some throw downs on the outfield, the squad worked on fielding drills, concentrating on movement around the in field and cut throwing from the boundary.

The weekend ahead would see four state fixtures, with two against Central Districts in Palmerston North and two against Wellington in Wellington. So Friday was spent packing. Mandie Godliman and I also managed an active recovery session in the pool, looking completely out of place as we jogged up and down the lanes whilst those around us swam more gracefully.

The Canterbury girls met up at the airport in our number ones; smart black trousers and pink shirts with our Canterbury Magicians logo embroidered on. There was a comment about a convention of barbie dolls from one amused onlooker, which to be honest we were quite flattered about!

After a night of very little sleep I travelled down to the ground with the girls. I'd played at Fitzherbert Park with the England team in early 2000 so was familiar with the layout and outfield. Captain Tiffen won her first toss of the competition and elected to field. Central Districts were bowled out for 176 with Rebecca Steele the most economical of our bowlers with 1-13 from 10 overs. Wendy Ides (one of the extras girls) was one of the biggest contributors to the Central Districts cause, something that was to plague us all weekend.

After an early loss of wicket, I went in and hit an agressive 52 from 56 deliveries before misreading a leg side ball and being stumped off their left-handed slow bowler, Erin MacDonald. Loss of wickets throughout our reply left us with too much to do and we finished on 161 all out. Our first loss and how expensive those extras turned out to be!

Sunday came and with it a chance to rectify the mistakes of the day before. Central again batted first and, although our wides tally was fewer, managed to get to 217 from their 50 overs with some good batting from Pulford, Mason and McGlashan. Nic Payne proved to be the backbone of our winning innings with 97 runs before being caught at mid-wicket with only 15 runs to get. A very exciting game which we won with only one ball to spare.

That evening we travelled down to Wellington in good spirits. We were now two points behind them in the league after they had recorded two victories over Otago. We arrived at Kelburn Park at 9am to start a rain-affected two days. Cricket started on time but after a strong start from Canterbury we had to leave the pitch with Wellington on 57 for three from 28 overs.

Over two hours later and with the game reduced to 46 overs for each side, we were back on. They finished on 157 for seven and had the better of us almost immediately, with a wicket on the second ball of our innings. Rowan Milburn and I steadied the ship with a good partnership before I was run out going for a third. Rowan and Haidee batted well together before Sarah Burke went in and finished the game for us.

The second game at Kelburn was washed out completely, with play finally being called off at 2pm after a particularly vicious hail shower. This was doubly disappointing for me, my previous match for the team had been a no-go and I'd missed an opportunity for more time in the middle before the England tour.

The Canterbury girls were travelling back home that evening and I left them at the airport as I caught a flight to Auckland to pick up my visa for Australia. I flew back down to Christchurch the following afternoon before heading into town for a goodbye meal with the Magicians.

I'd had a great time playing state cricket with the girls and now it was time to meet up with the England team.

More packing, then on Thursday a trip to the gym, a net at Hagley and a massage before heading to the airport for their afternoon flight in from Sydney. First impressions - they're all very tired and almost transparent, they're so pale!

We take them out into the afternoon sunshine and on to the bus for the trip into Christchurch. We're staying at the Heritage, a very nice hotel on Cathedral Square in the heart of Christchurch.

The next day after sharing stories of travelling and comparing sleep patterns, we're off in minibuses to Oamaru for a training camp and two warm-up matches against Otago. A light training session on Friday afternoon was followed up by a full day on Saturday.

There's plenty to discuss as well, with players sharing notes on key players from Australia and New Zealand and their form in the various state competitions. I'm very happy with the preparation that I've had for this tour, and feel that we'll be able to accomplish something special here.