New Zealand prepare for UAE heat

New Zealand haven't beaten Pakistan in a Test series since 1985, and their coach Mike Hesson knows they have a tough task on their hands in the series in the UAE next month. One of the main challenges will be adapting to the heat in the UAE, where the mercury rises to the 30s while in New Zealand the temperatures are mostly sub-20 degrees.

"Temperatures will be in the mid-30s with a dry heat that really saps your energy," Hesson wrote on his blog on the New Zealand Cricket website. "They don't call Test cricket a war of attrition for nothing, so the warm-up match against Pakistan A starting on Monday will be critical to acclimatising to those conditions.

"We now have a lot of experience both within the players and the management group in terms of dealing with the heat, but we're not in denial that it's going to be extreme."

Hesson set two main targets for his team in the Pakistan series: "The first is our ability to take wickets on unresponsive surfaces, and the second is that our batsmen all have a method to cope when the ball starts turning, to both defend and to score. If we can achieve those two tasks, we'll go some way to improving our poor record against Pakistan."

New Zealand have just seven wins and 23 defeats in 50 Tests against Pakistan, who are currently dominating a two-Test series against Australia in the UAE.