New Black Caps coach Gary Stead had his first official day at the helm in Christchurch today with the team's first training session for their upcoming tour of the United Arab of Emirates where they play Pakistan.
Stead was last month announced as Mike Hesson's successor, with the 46-year-old saying he won't be changing too much with the team's style of play.
"A lot of the build-up to the World Cup has been in place in the last two or three years, so I think it would be stupid of me to come in and try and change that too much," said Stead.
"There has been a fair amount of success in the team, I'm sure that I'll have some ideas that might challenge current thinking and I think that is a good thing at any time of the year."
The Black Caps will play Pakistan in all three formats, starting with a Twenty 20 match at end of next month.
"I see it as our last chance to get really tested in overseas conditions before we play Sri Lanka in the Test championship which is in about 9-10 months time.
"For us the learning around that and how we go about playing spin in particular and the reverse swinging ball are probably two of the really key things."
Stead said he will be keeping a close eye on Pakistan's series against Australia, which begins early next month before their fixtures with Pakistan.
"We'll be watching the Pakistan and Australia series really carefully to try and get some clarity on the way they are playing the game and what we can learn from that.
"But like any game we go into every series and try and win them."
Stead has eight months to prepare his side for the Cricket World Cup in Wales and England, which begins in late May.
"Try and play our best cricket and we try and learn from it as well, ultimately with a big eye to the World Cup that is only 8-9 months away."
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