You can hear the laughter already - Wellington's great weather is wrecking their cricket pitch.
A photo revealing a strange-looking pitch has raised concerns for tonight's T20 clash between New Zealand and England in Wellington.
The drop in pitch at Westpac Stadium has a large light coloured patch in the middle in the photo tweeted by English commentator Ian Ward, a former county cricketer.
Under the heading "Interesting pitch...", the photo would appear to indicate more problems at Westpac Stadium, whose pitch was criticised by both coaches when New Zealand played Pakistan late last month.
And while stadium officials are trying to calm the nerves, the weird-looking pitch will undoubtedly cause plenty of comment.
Stadium chief Shane Harmon told Radio Sport's Martin Devlin the surface had passed a ball bouncing-moisture test yesterday although even his pitch prediction was a little two-paced.
"It certainly isn't pretty, that's for sure," said Harmon.
"Our testing has shown consistent moisture and normal bounce throughout. It may be two paced in parts in fairness."
Twenty days over 25C have hit the replacement grass after disease struck early in the summer, according to Harmon.
Last year, Wellington had just one day over 24 degrees - stadium grounds people are now considering using different grass and preparation patterns because of the changing climate.
Inconsistencies with the stadium's pitches were highlighted by Kiwi coach Mike Hesson who has said the Black Caps are unsure what to expect for tonight's game.
Two defeats in Australia have made this a must-win game for England to keep their Tri Series hopes alive.
England are hoping to have their captain Eoin Morgan back from a groin problem. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is trying to shrug off a back complaint.
The match marks the beginning of an exciting looking tour which will involve 5 ODIs and two tests including this country's first day-night test, at Eden Park. A crowd of 15,000 is being predicted for tonight.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Anaru Kitchen, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Seifert, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Ben Wheeler, Henry Nicholls.
England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jake Ball, Dawid Malan, James Vince, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Liam Dawson, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood.
