Martin Crowe fears New Zealand's tight schedule may exhaust players before World Cup

Martin Crowe

Hamilton, January 14 (IANS)

Former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe has expressed concern that the Black Caps' tight schedule ahead of the World Cup could prove to be exhausting for the team.

Crowe, in his latest column for Cricinfo, wondered if the Black Caps have taken too much on their platter before the quadrennial tournament.

He viewed this as New Zealand's only worry in looking at their abilities to finally break the country's World Cup trophy drought.

"The 11th World Cup is just around the corner, yet New Zealand have a further eight games to play before they march out on February 14 to play the opening match against Sri Lanka. Normally that's more than a whole summer's worth.

"To win the World Cup, New Zealand will need to play 17 one-day matches from here, which will be exhausting. This is my only concern as I assess their chances," Crowe wrote.

New Zealand faces Sri Lanka in the second match of their seven-match ODI series in Hamilton on Thursday.

It will then play Pakistan in two One Day Internationals (ODIs) on the eve of the cup before a clash with Sri Lanka February 14.

Already there are injury concerns in the Black Caps camp, with leading batsman Kane Williamson resting a shoulder injury and veteran fast bowler Kyle Mills recovering from a hamstring problem.