By Mark Richardson New Zealand batsman in Leeds

During my week off from playing duties the disappointment of the first Test loss has faded a little and thus the personal acknowledgement of my achievement at Lord's has sunk in a bit more.

Every now and then I break into a little smile, on my own of course, when I recollect the feeling of getting a Test hundred on the sacred turf.

Coach John Bracewell played in a Test win at Headingley in 1983

I've been netting a bit and as the days go by I've been getting more and more refocused for Headingley.

I now feel ready to play again, not because I'm confident but rather because I've begun to worry again.

Concerns over consistency and dealing with the pressure of Test level competition, the sort of 'mental vermin' that fuel my game.

The result from last week is now firmly at the back of my mind and the difficulties this excellent English team pose are right back at the front.

New wicket, new challenge, same old thoughts.

It was good to knock Leicestershire over on Monday afternoon for our first win on tour.

They had rested a number of key players but while the papers might have hinted such competition was not ideal preparation for the second Test, I look at it from a more positive angle.

From the point of view of myself, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram, who sat out the game, we didn't miss out on anything.

A bat or bowl on a flat wicket against lesser opposition is not overly beneficial as preparation for high quality quicks and Test match batters.

All three of us are in reasonable nick so we could rest up easier in the knowledge that we were not missing out on anything too crucial.

Spinner Daniel Vettori was back in the wickets at Leicester

The rest of the boys who played the game obviously have had various things they wanted to work on.

A match against a team that doesn't put too much pressure on you allows you the chance to play under match conditions, yet take a little bit more of a training focus.

Most of the batters got some good time at the wicket and the bowlers all carried a healthy workload.

Dan Vettori was back in the wickets and finally our back-up quick, Kyle Mills, got a bowl for New Zealand in a first-class game.

The only real concern for us was the aggravation of a finger injury that Craig McMillan has been carrying. The next couple of days will tell whether we have him for the Test match.

So, the results of the last few days have to be viewed as secondary to the processes we were aiming to carry out.

Whacking boundaries and bowling guys out must be viewed in the context of the quality of cricket we played. It was a pretty good work out.