The Black Caps are bringing all their pieces together for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates after a "disjointed" start to their campaign.
This year's World Cup begins on October 17 however the Black Caps won't play their first fixture until October 26 against Pakistan, giving the team some much needed time to come back together after being apart in different IPL squads.
Allrounder Jimmy Neesham told Breakfast on Wednesday morning the team was welcoming squad members in slow and steady as they arrived from different parts of the cricketing world.
"Most of us are here now," Neesham said.
"Obviously we had a bit of a jilted beginning to the competition with the guys coming in from a few different places but now we've just got the Kolkata boys and Chennai boys to come."
Neesham added fellow allrounder Kyle Jamieson was set to join the team in the next 24 hours having wrapped up his commitments with Royal Challengers Bangalore overnight Tuesday after they lost their playoff match against Kolkata.
"We've ended up in the same hotel as Royal Challengers were for the IPL so he'll make his way into his new room [with us] over the next 12 or 24 hours and then do whatever testing that has to happen before he joins us in a couple of days."
While the IPL has hindered preparation in a team-bonding sense, Neesham conceded it did also have its perks with many squad members getting experience on the challenging pitches and conditions that will feature in this year's world cup.
"On the three different grounds we're going to play at, they all have very different characteristics," he said.
"Sharjah has been extremely challenging while Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been a bit more batting-friendly so it's good to have that information on hand from the guys who have been playing here already."
Neesham added the team aims to "hit the ground running" using that insider knowledge and their team chemistry.
"We've got a few things going our way so hopefully, if we can keep a harmonious situation off the field with a group of people that really enjoy each other's company, hopefully that can flow on to the field as well.
"It's been strange the last year or so... apart from that World Test Championship in the middle of winter, a lot of the guys haven't actually played together since February.
"It's been great to catch up with a few guys we haven't seen in a while."
The Black Caps will need to finish inside the top two of their six-team group to advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
Alongside Pakistan, the Black Caps will also play India and Afghanistan in Group B as well as two teams from the first round of the competition which features smaller cricket nations.
SHARE ME