Duncan Fletcher is unhappy with the fitness levels of some of the England players who flew out to New Zealand at the end of the one-day series. "I think they could have worked on their fitness a bit better," he said during a net session at Lincoln's Cricket Academy. "When they pitched up here, suddenly they weren't able to get into match fitness as they would have liked. They were given programmes to do back in England, but some of them didn't adhere to them exactly as we required. That surprised me." Asked whether he was disappointed, Fletcher replied grimly, "To some degree. These individuals must realise that they're professionals and they've got a job to make sure they come out here and are ready to play a Test match or first-class cricket as soon as they arrive."

Fletcher wouldn't name names, nor specify how many of the six players who had flown out to make up the Test squad (Usman Afzaal, Mark Butcher, Richard Dawson, Warren Hegg, James Ormond and Mark Ramprakash) he had in mind. But he stressed that the onus was on each individual to stay in shape. "They've got to make sure they adhere to their programme when in England. We do have a guy out here phoning back to make sure they are doing some of their fitness but there isn't someone sitting on their shoulder every day."

He refused to say whether falling below the required standard of fitness would affect a player's contract, and said no action would be taken yet. "We'll discuss it at the end of the tour," he said, "but I know which guys aren't fit." Speculation immediately focussed on two players: Ormond, who took 1 for 84 in 27 overs on a seamer's paradise in Queenstown and appeared to have lost none of the bulk that raised a few eyebrows when he made his Test debut against Australia in August; and Afzaal, whose fielding in that game was as laborious as ever.

Fletcher did reveal, however, that James Foster will keep wicket in the three-day game against Canterbury starting tomorrow at Hagley Park. Foster hasn't played since the first one-day game at Christchurch on February 13, and Fletcher admitted it was important "to see how he comes out of it."

The official line was that Foster had been rested, but when it was suggested that he had in fact been dropped, Fletcher didn't bat an eyelid. "It doesn't seem to have affected him. He's quite a positive individual, and he's always been up for it on previous occasions when he's come under a lot of criticism.

"It wasn't as if we were concerned about his wicketkeeping in the one-dayers. We were just trying to get the batting balance right. We felt that it was very difficult for a youngster coming in at No. 9. And that's where he was found wanting in one-day cricket, rather than keeping wicket."

But Foster's selection didn't mean he was a certainty for the Test series. "Hegg was impressive at Queenstown," he said. "To come out here and keep the way he did – he put himself on the map. He batted well too: I was interested to see that stand he put in [in the first innings Hegg added 43 for the eighth wicket with Dawson]. He plays a large part in this squad. He's got a great attitude, he works hard at his game. He's a very positive individual and a pleasure to have around."

Andrew Flintoff has recovered from a sore knee that prevented him from bowling in the second innings against Otago, and was named in the team to play against Canterbury. But Fletcher confirmed that Marcus Trescothick will definitely be rested.

Teams
England 1 Mark Butcher, 2 Michael Vaughan, 3 Nasser Hussain (capt), 4 Mark Ramprakash, 5 Usman Afzaal, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Craig White, 8 James Foster (wk), 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Andrew Caddick, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

Canterbury 1 Gary Stead (capt), 2 Robbie Frew, 3 Michael Papps, 4 Shanan Stewart, 5 Nathan Astle (wk), 6 Chris Harris, 7 Gareth Hopkins, 8 Paul Wiseman, 9 Warren Wisneski, 10 Wade Cornelius, 11 Chris Martin.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports here throughout the tour.

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