London: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said the fact several key members of his side had only recently arrived in London from the very different conditions of the Indian Premier League could not be used as an excuse come Thursday's first Test against England at Lord's. Six likely members of the New Zealand XI, including McCullum himself, had stints in the Twenty20 IPL and only set foot in England just days before the first of a two-Test series.


Brendon McCullum. Pic: AP, PTI 

Asked how he and his fellow IPL squad members were feeling, McCullum told reporters at an overcast Lord's on Wednesday: "Cold -- 45 degrees in Chennai to 10 degrees outside. "We are excited, a Test a Lord's is something very few people get the opportunity to play in. It's such an amazing ground, such character. "It's the tradition, the history of the ground.