England are looking to "peak at the right time" after cutting their only warm-up match before the Test series in New Zealand, according to Jack Leach.

It follows a similar move prior to the series in Pakistan before Christmas, which England won 3-0.

"We're working smarter as a group and it's about peaking for that first Test," spinner Leach told BBC Sport.

The two-day tour match, beginning on Wednesday (01:00 GMT), will be played with a pink ball under floodlights to help England prepare for the day-night first Test in Mount Maunganui on 16 February.

It will be followed by an optional practice session - the majority of England's training sessions are optional - on Friday and a day off on Saturday, before England travel to Mount Maunganui to finalise preparations for the two-Test series.

"Something that I have found in the past is I've peaked a little bit early in a tour then struggled to hold on to that," said Leach.

"Sometimes you let your worries about what might be about to come make you train over the top, then you peak too early. It's all about peaking at the right time and that is something we have thought about."

Before the clean sweep in Pakistan, England played against England Lions in Abu Dhabi in a match that was due to be four days, but was cut to three.

The flexible, relaxed approach to training has been adopted by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, the latter previously saying: "I feel in cricket that a lot of training sessions are for the sake of it and you don't get much out of it.

"You just go there because it's the thing to be seen to do. There has to be an outcome for that effort, not turning up, rolling your arm over, having a bat for 30 mins but not getting anything out of it and not improving as a player."

It is an approach that has been successful, with England winning nine of their 10 Tests under Stokes and McCullum.

"Five-day Tests are hard work," said left-armer Leach, 31. "You want to be a mixture of ready to go and fresh.

"We are trusting ourselves and trusting each other a lot better. Trust goes a long way in terms of putting in good performances. That relaxed feeling is definitely paying off."

After the two Tests in New Zealand, England play Ireland at Lord's in June before they attempt to win back the Ashes from Australia.

Despite being only three matches away from taking on their oldest and fiercest rivals, Somerset's Leach says the Ashes has not been discussed by the England squad.

"You know the Ashes is there, but the thing I've learned a lot about is being in the moment," he said.

"When we've been behind in games and ended up winning them, we've only been able to do that by trying to win each moment in the game. That's something in other teams I've played in where it's maybe not been the case."

On England's last Test tour of New Zealand in 2019, Leach, who suffers from Crohn's disease, fell seriously ill. A bout of food poisoning led to sepsis and left Leach fearing for his life.

"I remember thinking, 'Don't fall asleep because you might not wake up'. It was that serious in terms of how I was feeling," he said in 2020.

On Tuesday, speaking at the same Hamilton hotel where he fell ill, Leach said he had "bad memories" but had put the experience behind him.

During the Pakistan tour, he registered his 100th Test wicket, while his 46 scalps in 2022 was bettered only by Australia's Nathan Lyon and Kagiso Rabada of South Africa.

"I feel like I've come a long way since then and loving being part of this England team," said Leach.

"I'll keep working hard, keep loving it. That's the main thing for me - when I'm enjoying my cricket I'm giving myself the best chance. I'll continue to do that and see where it takes me."