England women have been sharpening their skills both in the kitchen and on the pitch as they prepare for their first match in New Zealand tonight.
The squad have opted for a fairly unique experience by housing members of the side together in apartments during the early stages of the tour in Mount Maunganui.
Since arriving in New Zealand Charlotte Edwards’ side have been based near the Bay Oval, where they will have their only warm-up game against a Northern Districts / New Zealand Cricket Women's XI before playing the first three one-day internationals of the series at the same venue.
Vice-captain Heather Knight said it has been a welcome change from the monotony of staying in hotels while on tour and she has taken the chance to show off her culinary skills to her team-mates.
Speaking exclusively to ecb.co.uk, she said:“It’s really nice. We spend a lot of time in hotel rooms when we go away and it sounds a bit snobbish to say you get sick of eating out, but you do sometimes and it’s nice to get your own kitchen and have your own living space.
In the slips with #EngWomenhttps://t.co/jM0BGhwIFl
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 6, 2015
“There’s three of us in our little apartment here which is really nice, so we’ll be cooking a little bit of the time but also enjoying the restaurants New Zealand has to offer.”
Knight is rooming with Laura Marsh and Natalie Sciver, and she is secretly quite chuffed with the result, apart from one thing.
“We’ve got myself and Laura Marsh in the slightly small single bedroom and then Natalie Sciver, who has somehow managed to get the double bed!” Knight joked.
“It’s a nice little group to share a room with – Laura Marsh is very good around the house; she’s a bit of a domestic goddess so I’m glad I’ve got her in my room!”
Looking ahead to the cricket, Knight says the squad are itching to get their tour truly under way after their days of hard work, with a lot of time spent in the gym.
“It’s been a good week in the lead-up here in Mount Maunganui and we’re ready for the game so, yeah, really excited to get on the pitch," she said.
Who brings a extension lead on tour.... @grundy_becky does!!! pic.twitter.com/02IzuaxxER
— Charlotte Edwards (@Lottie2323) February 2, 2015
“It’s a really nice ground and it looks like its going to be a good track as well so we’re really excited to put the skills we’ve been practising into the game tomorrow.”
It’s been a long winter for Knight, who prior to the trip to New Zealand had been honing her newly-found skills as an off-spinner in Australia.
“I spent a lot of time in Australia working on it and getting to know what it’s like to be a spinner so hopefully when I’m called upon I’ll be able to contribute with the ball, but I’m mainly a batter and that’s what I’ll always be I think,” she explained.
“It was a really good three months away, with new people and a new challenge and a really good standard of competition as well so, yeah, I had a really good time with Tas (Tasmanian Roar) and learnt a lot about my game and getting to know a new group of players was challenging too.”
However she says that nothing beat pulling on the three lions of her country, adding: “It was a really beneficial three months but for me there’s nothing better than being in an England shirt again, so (I’m) looking forward to that next week.”
This is home for the next two weeks! #MountMaunganuipic.twitter.com/5BzrX4acNO
— Laura Marsh (@lauramarsh7) February 2, 2015