England up against it

Butcher watches as Marcus Trescothick takes strike

Mark Butcher insisted conditions had been all against England after they were reduced to 82 for six by Otago in Queenstown.

Click here for scorecard

It was not what England were looking for with only two warm-up games before the start of the Test series against New Zealand.

Butcher made 20 in his first innings of the tour but overcast skies and a green wicket combined to make the home attack look more threatening than they have been in domestic cricket this season.

"There was a lot of grass on the wicket and the ball swung around, which made it pretty tough. There is more grass on the pitch than any other I've seen in a long time," said Butcher.

"The weather hasn't helped and we need to be out playing as much as possible.

Play is interrupted by a plane taking off

"We have only got a maximum of five days cricket left before the start of the first Test."

He added: "They were extreme conditions today and sometimes you get away with it - sometimes you don't."

Butcher apart, Mark Ramprakash, Usman Afzaal, Warren Hegg, Richard Dawson and James Ormond are all hoping to stake a claim for a place in the Test side.

Ramprakash and Afzaal failed with the bat, however, and with more rain expected, they may not get another chance.

"If the bad weather keeps up, it's doubtful if we'll get much play on Sunday. The least we can hope for is that the guys get half a bowl and we can get another knock in of some kind on Monday," said Butcher.