Captain Stuart Broad and Luke Wright have all but been cleared to play in England's Twenty20 tour match against a New Zealand XI next week.

Broad had been sidelined by a heel injury since November 2012 and Wright hurt his hand while fielding during drills on Saturday. The pair, however, practised with little to no discomfort on Sunday.

Opening batsman Alex Hales, meanwhile, is eager to continue the fine stretch of form that has brought him 418 runs in 14 T20Is at the impressive average of 34.83. Hales, too, struck a brisk 89 during a recent stint for the Melbourne Renegades in the Twenty20 Big Bash League.

"Obviously, we want to come out and put in a really strong performance in the warm-up games. At the same time, we want to make sure we get our basics right - so that when it matters we're really on form," said Hales.

"I think these matches are very important, to try to get the team gelled together.

"A few of the senior guys are coming back in, who missed out on India. So it's a good opportunity for us to get together."

England and the New Zealand XI will meet for two Twenty20 matches in Whangarei on Monday and Wednesday before the three-match T20I series gets underway on Saturday.