England leave for New Zealand this afternoon in the unaccustomed position of trying to complete a hat-trick of wins in one-day series and then reverse successive losses in the Test-match arena. The second challenge is likely to prove easier than the first, but for the next month, that treble will be the priority.

Having overcome Sri Lanka last October, England ought to be capable of beating New Zealand, especially if Shane Bond is disenfranchised after signing for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). Not since 2003, immediately after the routine World Cup disappointment, have England strung together three one-day series wins in a row.

Peter Moores succeeded Duncan Fletcher as head coach in part to improve fortunes in the shorter form. The verdict must be so far, so good. Yet Moores is beginning to find himself under scrutiny because of Test defeats against India and Sri Lanka, in particular the tired display in Galle that brought 2007 to an end.

“I never saw myself having a honeymoon period because you are always under pressure to deliver with England,” Moores said yesterday. “We make no bones that we are still working on our one-day team and looking to build on our momentum, whereas the Test side has changed a lot over the last two years through injuries and retirements. We need to settle the side quickly and end this period of flux and change.

“It is unfair to say that the players are complacent or just doing enough to stay in the side, but our lack of big individual hundreds is something we need to address quickly. We need to do that from now on if we are to be successful.”

Those comments also apply at one-day level. In Sri Lanka the discipline of the seam attack masked inconsistent batting. Two of the top three in Phil Mustard and Ian Bell failed to reach 30 during the five matches, while the key, experienced pair of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen supplied a single half-century between them.

Like the Sri Lankans, the resourceful New Zealand batsmen will try to swing their arms, from Brendon McCullum at the top through Scott Styris and Jacob Oram in the middle order. With at least some of the pitches likely to be variable, the seam bowlers have to reproduce the control that drew praise in Dambulla and Colombo.

This party, with Monty Panesar dropped to the Lions squad, includes two uncapped players in James Tredwell, the Kent off spinner, and Tim Ambrose, from Warwickshire, the latest candidate for the difficult twin roles of batsman and wicketkeeper.

New Zealand are likely to name their squad next week and most interest will centre on the status of Bond. He is fit and wants to play, but he has been told that he is out of contention unless he reneges on his deal with the ICL. With lawyers involved, the matter may end up in court.

The selectors have also been advised not to pick Daryl Tuffey and Hamish Marshall because of their involvement with the ICL. To lose the pace of Bond, however, would be a far bigger blow. New Zealand may have beaten Australia 3-0 this time last year and reached the World Cup semi-finals a couple of months later, but with Stephen Fleming retired from the one-day game, their quality is diminishing.

Itinerary

One-day squad: P D Collingwood (captain), T R Ambrose, J M Anderson, I R Bell, R S Bopara, S C J Broad, A N Cook, A D Mascarenhas, P Mustard, K P Pietersen, O A Shah, R J Sidebottom, G P Swann, J C Tredwell, C T Tremlett, L J Wright.

Fixtures:

Feb 2: v Canterbury (Christchurch).

Feb 3: v Canterbury (Christchurch).

Feb 5: First Twenty20 match (Auckland).

Feb 7: Second Twenty20 (Christchurch).

Feb 9: First one-day international (Wellington).

Feb 12: Second ODI (Hamilton).

Feb 15: Third odi (Auckland).

Feb 20: Fourth ODI (Napier).

Feb 23: Fifth ODI (Christchurch).

Feb 25 to 26: v Otago (Dunedin).

Feb 28-March 1: v Otago (Dunedin).

March 5-9: First Test match (Hamilton).

March 13-17: Second Test (Wellington).

March 22-26: Third Test (Napier).