CHRISTCHURCH, Feb 12: New Zealand and England will have one eye on the 2003 World Cup while trying to outdo each other in the one-day series which begins here Wednesday.

Captains Stephen Fleming and Nasser Hussain have admitted they will be fine tuning their World Cup preparations during the five-match series, which is the first between the two sides for more than five years.

England have revitalised their one-day form since the end of last season, winning eight out of 11 matches against Zimbabwe and India.

It brought to an end a miserable run in limited overs cricket that had seen Hussain’s side lose 11 consecutive matches, culminating in a humiliating home series in 2001 in which they were outclassed by Pakistan and Australia.

That experience led to a change of policy from the England management with old stagers Alec Stewart, Robert Croft, Mark Ealham and Alan Mullally ignored for the winter trips overseas.

In their place players such as Jeremy Snape, Matthew Hoggard and Jamie Foster have emerged, with allrounder Andrew Flintoff rediscovering the form that marked him out as a special player when he first came to prominence in 1998.

Flintoff has replaced Darren Gough as England’s quickest bowler and his pace, allied to his explosive batting — he made 45 off 25 balls in the win over Northern Districts at the weekend — has made him a crucial cog in his side’s plans.

England’s fightback in India, where they came back from 3-1 down to draw the series 3-3, has given Hussain’s side impetus and confidence going into the clashes with New Zealand, where they will be cheered on by more than 3000 travelling fans.

New Zealand skipper Fleming needs to pick his team up after the disappointing end to their trinations series campaign, which after a superb start fizzled out in the final stages. The Black Caps enjoyed three successive wins over old foes Australia, but South Africa proved too strong winning the three match final 2-0.

“Coming home was a massive plus for us and we are looking forward to showing what we learned in Australia,” Fleming said. “In the last month we have played well against good sides and that has given us a good indication of where we are. We learnt some good lessons and we have to try to put them into practice. In 12 months time I think we’ll be a good side.”

England openers Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick are both in princely form having each scored centuries against India, with Knight making 126 against Northern Districts last Friday. The left-handers often gave England a good platform in Zimbabwe and it will be crucial for New Zealand to make an early breakthrough.

Graham Thorpe is slowly putting his personal problems behind him and concentrating on his cricket again which provides England with much needed consistency in the middle order.

“We’ve given Marcus the gloves on a couple of occasions to cover ourselves but Jamie is our number one keeper and we will treat him as such,” Hussain said. “As I see it we have got to give him as many opportunities as possible .”

New Zealand will unveil new fast bowling hope Ian Butler at Jade Stadium with the 20-year-old Northern Districts bowler entrusted with the new ball.—AFP