Blair Tickner is hoping the trauma New Zealand has gone through as a nation due to Cyclone Gabrielle will help bring the Test squad together.
Tickner's hometown of Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the country's north island, has borne the brunt of the cyclone, which has been labelled as the fiercest storm the nation has experienced in living memory.
The official death toll stands at 11 but thousands of homes have been damaged beyond repair.
Tickner, who made his Test debut in the heavy defeat to England at the Bay Oval last week, was given special dispensation to leave the squad and assist the rebuild efforts in Hawke's Bay.
The 29-year-old linked back up with the Black Caps squad in Wellington and, ahead of the second Test starting on Friday at Basin Reserve, believes the team has been brought closer together by the catastrophe.
"I definitely want to get my first win in Test match cricket and really want to do it for the people in Hawke's Bay," he said of the extra motivation he has heading into the second Test.
"Now we've banded together as a team and fundraising this money I think it's going to be very special."
Explaining the damage in his hometown, an emotional Tickner said: "My father's house has been fully destroyed.
"It was good to get back and help them out. And, obviously, it's hard times for the whole region so helping out neighbours and whoever we could.
"Luckily enough, the Central Stags cricket team was helping alongside us. It has been tough. It's really tough at the moment. But [people in] Hawke's Bay are staying strong.
"Obviously, you grow up there as a kid and it's just crazy. A bit hard to talk about, really. There are so many damaged little parts of Hawke's Bay I haven't even seen yet.
"You sort of just get to work: people are just walking down the road and just asking people if they need help and it has just been awesome to see the region pulling together."
England won by 267 runs in the first Test, meaning the best New Zealand can hope for from the two-match series is a draw.
Under the tutelage of New Zealand great Brendon McCullum's coaching and Ben Stokes' captaincy, England have won 10 of their last 11 Tests while playing a thrilling brand of cricket dubbed 'Bazball'.
Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes is enjoying the freedom.
"It kind of feels like club cricket," said Foakes. "When I first came in, the pressures involved in Test cricket were so extreme and you were so worried about playing a false shot and things like that.
"Sometimes now you can get out in a weird way and it's a kind of a joke."
England out to extend winning streak
England have won their last four Tests against New Zealand, after going winless across their seven meetings prior in the format (D3, L4).
The last time they enjoyed a longer winning run against the Black Caps was a six-match span from February 1963 to July 1965.
Stokes' team have won their last six Tests. England last had a better such run in the format back in 2004, when they won eight in a row.
Skippers Stokes and Williamson close in on records
Stokes (194) is six away from becoming the 16th player to take 200 wickets for England in men's Tests.
However, Stokes' Test bowling strike rate against New Zealand (110.8) is his highest against any team.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (7,651 runs), meanwhile, is 33 away from becoming the all-time leading run scorer for New Zealand in men's Tests.
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's England omission not due to form
Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's omission from his latest England squad is not due to form and he still has an important role to play for his country.
Manchester United centre-back Maguire missed Euro 2024 for beaten finalists England due to injury but was involved for interim boss Carlsey's first squad since Gareth Southgate departed for the Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month.
However, there was no place for the 31-year-old ahead of this month's Nations League double-header against Greece and the return clash with the Finnish.
Maguire was the fifth-most utilised player for England under Southgate, with only Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and John Stones appearing more, and Carsley explained that the decision was just to take a look at other options.
"It was a chance of having a look at other players. It's nothing to do with form. It's looking at the next two camps to look at other players," Carsley said.
"The players left out all have a case but we saw the benefit in the last camp of the squad being fresh, feeling fresh and a lot of energy in it.
"It's not just a copy and a paste, I want them to feel like they all have earned their place in the squad. People want to know where they stand long-term, I've told all the players this is a short-term situation.
"Harry is a player I've worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we have.
"It was a case of talking to him about what my decision was, we have some really good centre-backs who we are keen to see play. Harry still has a really important part to play, not just in this squad but also in the campaign."
Gillespie defends under-fire Pakistan captain Masood ahead of England Test series
Jason Gillespie insists Shan Masood has a "clear plan" as Pakistan's Test captain.
Pakistan's red-ball skipper has faced scrutiny after overseeing five straight defeats as captain, starting by being whitewashed 3-0 by Australia last December.
That was followed by a shock 2-0 series defeat to Bangladesh last month, which marked Gillespie's first as Pakistan Test coach.
Next up is a three-match series with England, where Joe Root (12,402) is 71 away from surpassing Alastair Cook (12,472) as the all-time leading run scorer for England in men’s Tests, beginning in Multan on Monday.
Speaking on BBC World Service's Stumped podcast, Gillespie said of Masood: "Shan has got a very clear plan on how the Test side should play and we are completely aligned on that," the 49-year-old said.
"There are things people don't see and I've been really impressed by his communication with the players and how he's gone about doing his job."
Gillespie added that he believes part of the issue is improving the fitness of the team.
He added: "We can't afford to have players in international cricket who are not fit or strong enough to negotiate the rigours of the game.
"What I've learned from the Bangladesh series is that we've got some wonderful players, but we need to be more consistent. We've got the skills but we need to keep fine-tuning them.
"There's also been plenty of talks around fitness and we're making sure that it's a key component for us going forward."
Deitz wants Windies Women to capitalize on strong positions ahead of World Cup opener- “We have to be dangerous for longer”
Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s team Shane Deitz is looking for his squad to show more killer instinct ahead of their opening game of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa on Friday.
Deitz spoke to CWI Media after the team’s second Warm-up game, a 35-run defeat at the hands of defending World T20 champions, Australia.
During that game, the team had Australia on the ropes with the ball and then with the bat.
At one point during the Australian innings, the West Indies had them reeling at 44-4 and 59-5 before they eventually made 144-8.
With the bat, the regional outfit were 68-1 in the 10th over before eventually being bowled out for 109.
“We had them on the ropes but we didn’t deliver the killer knockout punch. If we’re going to win this World Cup, that’s what we’ve got to do,” Deitz said.
“We have to have the perfect game. 20 overs with the bat. 20 overs with the ball. When we get in those situations and get on top, we’ve got to nail them,” he added.
Even with the losses to India and Australia in preparation for the World Cup, having the defending champions in those positions means that there is a lot of potential within this group.
To consistently defeat the best teams in the world, you have to maintain that high standard of play for as long as possible throughout the game.
Deitz echoed similar sentiments.
“The results aren’t the be all end all in the practice games. What we want is to play good cricket and we are doing that, just not for long enough. Once we get that longer, we have a chance to scare a few teams at this World Cup,” he said.
“Everyone’s in good spirits and we’ve shown that we’re a dangerous team. We just have to be dangerous for longer. The girls are backing themselves and everyone’s looking forward to the start of this World Cup,” he added.
As for the approach he wants his team to have in this tournament, Deitz wants to take the game to the opposition.
“If we’re going to win this, we’ve got to play attacking cricket. We’ve got to back ourselves and take on the opposition. That’s the mindset we’ve got to continue with,” he said.
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