Cricket: Black Caps focused for Windies tour

Mike Hesson.
Mike Hesson.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson says cricket's ongoing match-fixing scandal won't distract the Black Caps as they leave today for their three-test West Indies tour.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has brought 14 charges of match-fixing against former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent and six against Pakistan A pace bowler Naveed Arif.

Testimony made by Vincent and Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum to the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit has been published in British media over the past week.

Hesson said in his NZ Cricket blog on Friday that there was no doubt the revelations of corruption over the past week had hurt cricket.

"But it's very much on the periphery for the players as they complete their preparations, and I have every confidence that they know what to do if there's any suspicion of an approach," Hesson said.

"Essentially if the investigation proves people have done the wrong thing, then I'll be pleased they're out of the game."

Hesson says the team's focus lies solely on working out how to combat the Windies battery of spin bowling.

"There won't be a lot of grass on the wickets and while they have some quality quicks, we know the real danger comes with spin," he said.

The Black Caps have two warm-up matches in Trelawny in northern Jamaica against a West Indies Selection on May 29 and June 2 before the first test at Sabina Park in Kingston begins on June 8.

The second test begins on June 16 at Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain, with the third scheduled for June 26 at Providence's National Stadium in Guyana.

Two Twenty20 matches in Dominica on July 5 and 6 complete the tour.

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