Well-travelled Marshall ready for action

On Monday, Hamish Marshall was batting for Northern Districts in New Zealand's domestic State Championship final. On Wednesday, he was in Antigua preparing to bat at No. 3 in New Zealand's Super Eights match against West Indies a day later.

Marshall said it had been a hectic week after he was called up to replace Lou Vincent, who broke his wrist, in the 15-man squad. "There's a bit of excitement," he told AFP.

"It's always nice to get to a new country so I've been staying up reasonably late but I got to sleep last night and got eight hours in. I had a schedule that [the fitness trainer] Warren Frost had given me - when to sleep and when not to - and I stuck to that."

Marshall was dropped from the New Zealand team in January after reaching double-figures only twice from eight ODIs since the start of the Champions Trophy. However, his domestic form has been strong and on Monday his unbeaten 80 helped Northern Districts win the State Championship title.

"It's nice to be here, a little bit of a shock and I'm disappointed for Lou," Marshall said. "It's an opportunity for me and it's just nice to be over here. The batting's been going well for ND and playing some cricket in a team that's winning is also pretty handy. To get some runs myself has been good for my confidence."

Marshall said facing up to West Indies on Thursday would be a huge challenge having only just arrived in the Caribbean. "It's a quick turnaround but it's part of the job," he said. "I knew that was going to happen when I was coming over.

"Mentally and physically there's not a lot you can do, just get as much rest as possible and hydrate and eat well - that sort of thing. Mentally the key is to get on track to play a game which is pretty important for us at the start of the Super Eights."

Marshall's appearance at No. 3 is not the only change to the New Zealand top order, with Peter Fulton set to open with Stephen Fleming. A win for New Zealand would put them well on the way to a semi-final berth.