New Zealand are struggling to piece their team together ahead of the first Test against England, with Cyclone Gabrielle impacting several players' travel plans.

Five players from New Zealand's 14-man squad, as well as three support staff, are yet to arrive at Mount Maunganui ahead of the start of the first Test on Thursday.

Cyclone Gabrielle's impact on New Zealand's North Island has led some areas to declare a state of emergency, with over 46,000 homes losing power and hundreds of flights being cancelled.

The Black Caps trained indoors at Bay Oval on Monday in a bid to avoid the worst of the weather conditions, with strong winds and heavy rain expected to continue in the build-up to the opener.

Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner and Will Young are among those yet to meet up with their team-mates ahead of the two-match series, leaving head coach Gary Stead's plans in flux.

"We've got a number of players that are still arriving here at the moment, the cyclone that's happening at the top of the North Island has had a wee bit of an impact on travel for some people," Stead said.

"It's disappointing the weather is the way it is, but there's a lot of people up at the top of the North Island who are a lot worse off than us.

"Originally we were planning to have an evening training session but we managed to get in a touch earlier. 

"We were just worried that the winds might get up to such a point that we wouldn't be able to train later on."

England arrived in New Zealand having won nine of their 10 Tests under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, and Stead has admiration for their aggressive style.

"I think it's great what Brendon and Ben have done with this English team," he said. "They've managed to take a team that was really struggling and turn it into something now that's probably the talking point of world cricket.

"But I think what each team has to do is work out is what becomes really unique to them and natural for the way that they play."