The last week has been a turbulent one to say the least. We started with a loss to the Northern Knights in our first warm up game, convincingly won our second and then lost our way in the series opener with New Zealand.

Under Indian lights Photo Gloucs

One thing which has been obvious is the huge change in playing conditions. It is amazing how your reflexes become tuned to playing in India, and it has taken a few days to revert to home-style conditions again. The seam bowlers appear a lot chirpier now as they see some movement off the wickets, a rare sight on the sun-baked wickets of the sub-continent.

So chirpy in Caddy's case that he decided to invite everyone around to his Christchurch home for a celebratory `Barby'. All the team enjoyed the relaxing evening as we were treated to roast beef, lamb and of course prawns!! It was interesting to see a few of the senior players browsing through the local property supplement the following day! New Zealand really is a great country, and in Christchurch, we saw its most English element.

The day before the opening game, we attended the official series launch hosted by the New Zealand team sponsors. On arrival at this formal occasion, we were greeted by a lady in a particularly scruffy grass skirt, which we thought was strange? It was soon explained that she was the leader of the local Maori group who were going to `welcome' us.

The welcome consisted of 20-odd grown men and women, face painted and scantily clad charging at us, screaming and sticking their tongues out in unison! We had to hold back a couple of the `Yorkies' from retaliating and explain that it was just a ceremonial dance!! We then had to accept the welcome by calmly rubbing noses with the Maori group who performed the traditional display brilliantly. Later, we had a more conventional welcome by our hosts and enjoyed another great `summer' buffet.

Pushing to gain place Photo Gloucs

Wednesday saw us at Jade Stadium for the opening game of the series. We had discussed the importance of the first game in our meetings and were keen to get off to a good start. After 25 overs of the reduced 42-over game, the England camp was relaxed and confident, but an hour later the mood had changed dramatically. A combination of great fielding and a lack of batting partnerships meant that we fell short of the 250, which we looked at one stage like posting.

As in India, we managed to get back into the game and looked like having another tense finish, but the Kiwi batsmen scraped home to take the lead in the series. Obviously we were disappointed with the game especially after we had such a commanding start, but lessons were learnt and we have four games ahead to win.

The next stop for the one-day road show is Wellington and many of us breathed a sigh of relief as the plane sidled up to the Wellington airport terminal buildings. Locally known as the Windy City, our turbulent descent resembled a mosquito approaching a desk fan! Thankfully we arrived safely, and I now have a chance to reminisce over the two seasons spent playing and coaching in here during the mid-90s.

Our second game is being played at the new stadium here, which again, hosts huge rugby games as well as cricket matches. Sharing resources like this means that the stadiums can be perfectly equipped but whether this time-share philosophy could work in England is open to debate.

With only 2 weeks of the tour remaining, the work is still going on behind the scenes for me as I push to develop my game further and seize a regular position in this developing squad. There is a great deal to play for and we have our sights set high on winning this series, Saturday's game will be a crucial for us and we relish the next challenge.

© Jeremy Snape