New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said the squad felt his country's hurt as they prepared for a World Cup match against Australia overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said the squad felt his country's hurt as they prepared for a World Cup match against Australia overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.
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At least 98 people have been left dead by the disaster, with hundreds injured, and Vettori admitted trying to focus on Friday's match against the world champions had been far from easy.
"It has been difficult but I suppose when we put it into perspective, it's nothing compared to what the people back home in Christchurch and all over New Zealand are going through," Vettori said Thursday.
"The whole country is hurting immensely and the team feels exactly the same way.
"Obviously it's been an incredibly tough build up with what's going on, but for a lot of guys I suppose coming to training has allowed them to take their minds off things so I think we've trained as well as we could and we're really looking forward to this game.
"It's a big game in terms of the World Cup and it's also a Chappell-Hadlee game which means a lot to people back home, so I definitely think we'll be up for it and looking forward to it."
Vettori confirmed New Zealand would go into the game with the same 12 from which they selected the side that thrashed Kenya by 10 wickets in their tournament opener.
New Zealand's World Cup squad have enlisted the services of a local physiotherapist after their own returned to his earthquake-shattered home in Christchurch.
Physio Dayle Shackel and trainer Bryan Stronach, whose wife is four months pregnant, have both taken a temporary leave of absence from the squad, who face world champions Australia in their second World Cup group fixture at the VCA Ground here on Friday.
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