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LONDON - The cricketers munch on king prawns and sip mineral water, peering out at the world like royalty from the safety of their respective balconies.
Nearby the members sit obediently in their grandstand, all wearing their loud red and yellow ties - some with matching hats and blazers - and offering polite applause for good play.
Jacket and tie is mandatory, but dozing off during a lull is permitted.
At the other end, the press tap away at their laptops in a space-age building that would make George Jetson green with envy.
Welcome to Lord's, home of the Marylebone Cricket Club, founded in 1787.
New Zealand play their 15th test match at the ground starting tomorrow, while seven of their 11 will play a test there for the first time.
Only Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Chris Martin are back from four years ago, while Vettori is the only three-time visitor.
Coach John Bracewell first toured England in 1983 and took Gloucestershire to several one-day finals at Lord's.
His formula for any potentially overawed youngsters: just soak it up.
"You spend a lot of time in the dressing room and rather than lecture them you just let them enjoy, sit back and relax," he said.
"They might sit in different corners and speculate where Richard Hadlee sat and all the other names, they look up at the honours board and you can see their eyes glaze over a little bit.
"It's nothing new to anyone who's entered here before, it's an awe-inspiring place to be."
New Zealand might not be the biggest crowd pullers but the ground, which slopes nearly 3m from one side to the other, will be near enough to full for the traditional first test of the English home summer.
Cricket tragics descend from everywhere, and for £65 ($168 - the cost of a ticket - they can enhance their Lord's experience with a picnic hamper.
It includes poached salmon, organic carrot and cucumber cruditee, spicy homemade roast pepper shortbread biscuits and sauvignon blanc, and is traditionally eaten on the grass out the back at the Nursery Ground.
Up in the dressing rooms, a player having a bad day can be comforted by the cuisine at the luncheon interval.
Talking to Oram, you get the impression it's some of the best he's eaten, including the times he's had to pay.
"At trainings you have lunch building up to test week. It's a full menu: mains, starters, desserts, a proper five-star restaurant type of thing," he said.
"There's always fresh king prawns on the menu, it's fantastic, and there's a fridge stocked with anything you want.
"It leaves a first-class pot-luck lunch for dead."
With lunch safely digested it's time for action, the players' spikes clicking on the hard floor as they walk through the Long Room, past the rows of curious members then out down the path and through the gate on to the turf.
There's no blaring music. Just, simply, the player's name is broadcast with little emotion as he walks out to bat.
Visiting teams often lift another notch, inspired by the sheer tradition of the surrounds, and Oram hopes that trend continues with the New Zealand youngsters.
"You could either be a bit daunted and get a little bit overawed or you could be completely excited about it.
"The feeling I'm getting is the guys just can't wait for the match to start because it's just such a fantastic place to train and play."
History of NZ tests at Lord's
1931: draw.
1937: draw.
1949: draw.
1958: England won by an innings and 148 runs.
1965: England won by 7 wickets.
1969: England won by 230 runs.
1973: draw.
1978: England won by 7 wickets.
1983: England won by 127 runs.
1986: draw.
1990: draw.
1994: draw.
1999: New Zealand won by 9 wickets.
2004: England won by 7 wickets.
Summary: played 14, England won 6, NZ won 1, drawn 7.
- NZPA
