Watling starts from scratch for West Indies tour

It was back to basics for BJ Watling this week.

The Black Caps wicketkeeper-batsman hasn't had much time off since the end of the season, but it's still a matter of building slowly as he prepares for the tour of the West Indies.

The 28-year-old had one week of relaxation after Northern Districts' season finished in early April, before getting back in the gym and running.

Then this week it was hitting balls in the indoor nets and getting used to the feel of the keeping gloves again as he tries to find some rhythm.

"It's pretty basic, indoors," he said. "You can't really adjust to any conditions or anything, so it's a bit of grooving time with the gloves and with the bat."

"Last time we went there we might have been a bit under-prepared, so we're going there two weeks out to make sure that we get some time in their conditions," said Watling, referring to the abysmal 2012 trip.

"I'd say [Sunil] Narine will be a challenge again, and I'm pretty sure [Shane] Shillingford will be there or thereabouts. It'll definitely suit them, so we've got to be adaptable and make sure we're ready to play in different conditions."