It feels like tour matches have joined the kākāpo on the endangered list in recent times and where they still exist in the crowded international calendar, this England team appear keen to keep them short and sweet.
The tourists chose to halve their time in the middle before next Thursday’s day-night first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. A couple of two-day games against an “NZ XI” have become one amid a belief from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum that if it lasts any longer, the fixture goes stale.
