Melbourne: New Zealand and Cricket Victoria have decided to cancel the opening day of their two-day warm-up match ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia due to extreme heat forecast for Friday.
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New Zealand coach Gary Stead confirmed his team would rest on Friday with temperatures expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius in Melbourne.
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“The squad will then train at the MCG on Saturday morning in much cooler conditions before batting first in a full-day match against the Victoria XI on Sunday,” the team said in a media release on Thursday, referring to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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Kane Williamson’s side lost the first match of the three-Test series in Perth by 296 runs.
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