By choosing not to have a full-scale practice before the daynight game in Napier, however, they took the policy one step too far.
It looked dangerously like complacency not to work on the points which went wrong in their first two one-day internationals, and one cannot help but wonder what the decision about practising would have been if they had lost either or both games.
The second match in Auckland, after all, was handed to them on a plate after New Zealand's captain had foolishly chosen to bat first when rain was forecast, despite rules greatly favouring the side batting second in shortened matches.
England bowled too many wides and no-balls - 16 wides for a start. New Zealand actually had more than 53 overs batting, taking the extras into account. Nor was the throwing always on target (perfection may be impossible, but constant practice brings it closer) and overthrows were given away in one instance because no one was backing up.
At least it was decided to have half an hour of fielding practice yesterday evening, to get used to the relatively dim lights of McLean Park and assess the amount of dew, which is often a factor too in night games.
Mike Atherton, having missed the match because of a sore back, has had only one short innings since the Christchurch Test ended eight days ago, and only Nick Knight and Alec Stewart had any substantial batting time in the Auckland game.
All these were very good reasons for a practice (it need not have been long) in all the disciplines of the game, batting, bowling and fielding.
The journey from Auckland to Napier, which the England team made on Monday, is akin to one from London to Leeds (not that Napier, destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in the art deco style, has much in common with Leeds). It is therefore absurd in this case to say that they needed a day of rest to recuperate.
I said after their poor performance against New Zealand A in Wanganui that it would be more or less forgiven if England won the Wellington Test, and the same is true, perhaps, if the game in Napier (starting early today) is won, despite inadequate preparation. It does not alter the point, however, that it is safer to unturn every stone.
That said, the onus was very much on New Zealand to deliver in the third international. At this ground they had won eight of their nine matches in one-day internationals before this game, and England lost here on their previous visit under Mike Gatting in 1988, having arrived two up in the series, which was drawn 22.
If New Zealand lose at Napier, the series will be England's, and Lee Germon's plea for consistency might be ignored by the selectors even to the extent of ending the experiment with this articulate wicketkeeper-batsman as the national captain.
The taxi-driver's view around New Zealand is that Germon should go, which is not necessarily correct, but it does begin to look as though he is not quite good enough in any of his roles.
Germon could have done with Mark Greatbatch in his side. That sweet-striking left-hander, ditched after a modest tour of Pakistan, scored 6, 4, 6, 6, 6 off successive balls to take Central Districts to an extraordinary win over Canterbury when they needed 28 in the final over of the Cricket Max final last week.
For the uninitiated, Cricket Max is a form of instant cricket packaged for New Zealand's satellite television by Martin Crowe. It theoretically rewards straight hitting, because of bonus runs in the 'Max' area behind the bowler, but the practice seems to be to slog over midwicket in most cases.
The shirts, which are striped but clean and simple, are more tasteful than most of the coloured variety and therefore much more acceptable.
Alan Mullally caught a Mako shark during an England fishing trip off the coast at Napier.
The 60-pounder, which took 45 minutes to land, was put into cold storage at the England hotel for a team barbecue, along with about 40 crayfish taken during the expedition.