Wind no worries for Knights

The Northern District Knights game plan wont be thrown out if the squally winds buffeting Rarotonga over the week continue today, says captain Scott Styris. After all, the guys play in Wellington pretty regularly.

Years of experience in the notoriously blowy and fickle New Zealand capital mean the Knights are well used to playing in the less than ideal conditions.

And if it continues into this afternoon, when the Styris team plays the Cook Islands national side at Turangi oval, Styris said his men would just carry on as usual.

Its the first time the Knights have played together as a team in months, so Styris said the team would be using the Twenty20 match as a way to get back in touch with each other on the field ahead of the upcoming summer season.

Because the Northern Districts area is so spread out, the boys train in smaller groups right through, so this is a fantastic chance to get the guys together, Styris, the former Black Cap and current Chennai Super Kings player, said.

The Cook Islands also gives the team a chance to escape a long New Zealand winter and get into a hot climate for some training earlier in the season.

The guys have a few chances for relaxation in the Cook Islands, but their schedule is filled with tough training sessions that sees them running up and down hospital hill and sharing in a medium-distance marathon.

Aside from taking the chance for team bonding, Styris said the team was also on a mission to promote cricket in the Pacific.

He said he was impressed with the natural talent he had seen in the Cook Islands during his first trip here and was looking forward to getting a first hand look at his opposition on the pitch today.