Ross Taylor a 'lot more comfortable' in New Zealand set-up

Ross Taylor's re-integration into the New Zealand set-up will be completed on the roads of England.

Talking of cricket... during the 2008 tour you scored your Test best of 154no at Old Trafford. What can you tell us about that knock? ROSS: That's one of my two top hundreds in international cricket. The wicket was fairly similar to my home ground back home in New Zealand; there was quite a bit of bounce. I wasn't hitting the ball very well beforehand though - I got skittled three or four times in the nets. But I worked on a couple of things to get in a better place. I still didn't think that I'd go from horrendous form to scoring my first hundred abroad so quickly. You've mentioned English conditions a couple of times already - how big a challenge is it to adapt? Or do we make too much of it? ROSS: There is a difference and you've got to use home conditions to your advantage. The biggest difference about playing over here is probably the ball, which does swing and hold its shine longer than the Kookaburra. I'm sure England have different theories on how to maintain the condition of the ball and I'm sure our bowlers will look forward to bowling with it as well. During that 2008 series you were dismissed by Broad (twice), Panesar (twice) and Anderson. How far do you think England's attack has progressed since then? ROSS: Swann looks like he'll be available so Monty might not get a go this time! But they are all world-class bowlers in their own right, even more so in their own conditions. Steven Finn is now part of that outstanding line-up and I'm sure they are disappointed with what happened in New Zealand and hit us even harder as a result. Bob Willis has been full of praise for your attack and the efforts of Tim Southee and Trent Boult in particular. Can you fight fire with fire? ROSS: It's an exciting line-up and one that's still quite raw. The biggest thing is the competition for places; to have a player of Doug Bracewell's calibre waiting in the wings given what he's achieved in international cricket over the last couple of years means we are in a very healthy position. Now you are one of the more experienced players in the team, are you excited about what this team can achieve? ROSS: We've seen with our wins over Australia and Sri Lanka in the last year or so that this is a team that can perform. We know where we can get to - now it's about being consistent and putting in performances day in, day out. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are not far away and we want to rise up those rankings. Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford averaged around 50 at the top of the order in the winter Test series. How much did they impress you? ROSS: They complement each other well; it's always nice to have a right/left-hander combination. Hopefully they can continue the same form that they showed in New Zealand in England because when the openers do well, that confidence filters through the whole team. What's the best thing about touring England? ROSS: A lot of family and friends come over to support us, which is great, and the food is very similar to home. We always enjoy the bus trips around the country. We spend a lot of time flying everywhere in other parts of the world, so it's good to get on the road and relax. A bit of team-bonding on the bus is always enjoyable! Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand from 10am on Sky Sports 1 HD on Thursday.