Black Caps put through paces for Windies tour Adams stars in win

It’s cold and the Porritt Stadium track is wet. But the tough toil goes on.

Conditions are a world away from what the Black Caps will face in the West Indies, but that’s all part of why the players are pushed to their limits.

Strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson was in Hamilton yesterday to run his weekly speed endurance session with BJ Watling, Trent Boult and Anton Devcich.

Auckland- based Donaldson – the former New Zealand sprinter – runs the same session for players in his home city, while he tries to catch up with others around much as possible.

It looks like a tough grind for the players – 4x50m sprints, then 4x100m, 2x200m, 4x50m, 3x100m and 1x200m.

They finish over.

‘‘ It doesn’t sound too much volume, but it’s all about trying to get them to cope with running faster at a higher intensity,’’ Donaldson said.

‘‘ Because the game’s getting so quick and you have to be so athletic these days, it’s dealing with a few different types of things, from resilience to their speed and their power.’’

Then there’s a gym session in the afternoon, while five other days of the week the players have two

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hurled sessions to complete on their individual programmes from Donaldson.

‘‘ They all do the same stuff, apart from the bowlers, obviously, so they’ve got to be physically the best out of all them because they’re the ones that have to do the most, in the aspect of load.’’

During the sprint session Boult is a clear leap ahead, always finishing first, and Donaldson rated him as physically one of the best in the squad across everything from strength to speed.

‘‘ But different types of athletes have different specialties, like BJ’s a lot smaller, but he’s agility- wise very good.’’

As much as the players despise the session, it makes them feel good afterwards, and there is a competitive element which comes out.

‘‘ It’s horrible, yeah,’’ Boult admitted. ‘‘ The first couple are all right, and then it’s just about striding out, but the lactic acid and all that hits you, and it’s about hanging on. It’s good to make the trip over the hill [ from Tauranga] and have a good blow out.

‘‘ It does get a little bit competitive, but I think it’s a lot about working together and kind of getting the most out of each session together.’’

Added Watling: ‘‘ It’s not much fun, but you feel better for it the next day. So it’s good to get it done and finished.

‘‘ I try to beat Trent on the bench press but that’s about it. He’s prob- ably one of the fittest, so he’s a good benchmark to work towards. But I’ve got Devi who’s about the same pace, so I make sure I get in front of him.’’

Devcich isn’t in the squad to tour the West Indies, which flies out next Saturday, but the other two are, and their bodies will have to quickly adjust to the hotter temperatures.

‘‘ When it rains I’m sure they don’t appreciate being out on the track,’’ Donaldson said. ‘‘ But we’ve got to stress their systems and get them as fit as possible to cope with the heat. Because when you’re coming from winter and you’re going into 40 degree heat and bowling up to 25 overs a day, the boys have to be physically, very, very fit and strong.’’

While he has to dish out the hard tasks, Donaldson’s presence – it’s coming up three years since he joined the Black Caps – is revered by the players.

Boult rates him as ‘‘ first class’’ and said he owes him a lot of credit for getting him in the shape he is, and for his performances on the park.

‘‘ His experience and his knowledge is something that’s very significant and important,’’ Boult said.

‘‘ He’s really good, not just from a sprinting and running side of things, the power in the gym and the exercises that go in there is definitely working as well, so it’s good to have him on board.’’ Time looked to be running out on Steven Adams’ first post- season with the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday, but up stepped the MVP.

The visiting Clippers dominated from the start in game five of the finals series at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, but gave up a 104- 97 lead in the final 49 seconds to lose 105- 104 to the Thunder.

A Clippers win would have handed them home advantage as the series moved to Los Angeles on Friday.

Instead, City.

NBA MVP Kevin Durant scored five straight points in those closing moments to pull OKC within two points, and then guard Russell Westbrook was fouled by Chris Paul on a three- point attempt with six seconds left.

He drained all three free- throws, and the Thunder denied Paul at the buzzer to claim a vital win.

Adams had nine points on 4- 5 shooting, four rebounds, two blocks and an assist while playing a series high 23 minutes.

It was a strong performance from the Kiwi rookie, staying out of foul trouble and performing his core roles well.

After missing his first shot of the night on a lay- up in the first quarter, Adams made four dunks, and had one of the highlights of the match when swatting a Matt Barnes shot in the second quarter.

He later blocked a lay- in attempt by Glen Davis and claimed the resulting rebound.

Starting the fourth quarter, Adams was strong at the defensive end in affecting several missed shots by the Clippers.

He was subbed midway through the fourth, leaving Durant to make up for a poor shooting performance in the closing seconds and secure a stunning victory.

Durant closed with 27 points on 6- 22 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Westbrook kept the Thunder in the match for long periods, finishing with 38 points and six assists.

The Thunder are back in action in game six of the series on Friday, playing at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

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