New Zealand cricket is riding a high after the White Ferns won the T20 World Cup in late October and the Black Caps blanked India 3-0 in the recent test series in the subcontinent.
Most of the test players have headed back to New Zealand to prepare for the home series against England.
But some of them have made the trip to Sri Lanka for the white-ball tour.
Second-test hero Mitchell Santner will captain the side for the two T20s and three ODIs.
He will be joined by Otago’s Glenn Phillips, who made some important contributions in India.
Player of the series Will Young gets another opportunity to remind everyone of his class. He has been Kane Williamson’s eternal understudy but shone in India while Williamson was resting a groin injury.
Wrist spinner Ish Sodhi had a limited role in the series and will be looking forward to getting more overs in.
Otago spearhead Jacob Duffy, Michael Bracewell and Mark Chapman all spent time on the sidelines in India and will be desperate to play some cricket in Sri Lanka as well.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the tour will be seeing how debutants Nathan Smith and Zak Foulkes perform.
They could find themselves going head-to-head for an all-rounders spot in the years to come.
Smith is a popular figure in Otago. He made his debut for the Volts as a 17-year-old when he was still at Waitaki Boys’ High School.
His bowling has improved since he made the shift to Wellington. He was named domestic player of the year last season.
Foulkes looks another very exciting prospect. The Cantabrian gets the ball to nip about off the seam nicely and he has 39 wickets in his 14 first-class games. He also has a couple of half centuries to his name.
Otago supporters will be interested to see how Dean Foxcroft goes. The right-hander’s form fell away last season and he has made a lean start to the 2024-25 summer.
Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson said there was some ‘‘awesome talent’’ coming through.
‘‘Zak . . . is obviously coming in with a lot of skill but probably hasn’t played in these conditions a lot,’’ Ferguson said.
‘‘So for the most part it is about keeping it simple.
‘‘Obviously, Sri Lanka is a very strong side, particularly in their conditions. I’m yet to play here as well, so we’ll see how we go game one.’’
Game one gets under way in the early hours of tomorrow morning New Zealand time.
‘‘It has been a crazy month for New Zealand sport. I’ve been at home doing preseason training and playing a few [domestic] games.
‘‘It has been awesome being a Kiwi fan with the women’s World Cup — fantastic result for them.
‘‘I know how much hard work they put in behind the scenes. And then of course the boys in India.
‘‘I’m not sure the New Zealand public understand how epic that is from an achievement point of view.
‘‘To win a test match in India in an incredible achievement, but to win three on the bounce and sweep India is almost unheard of in a way.’’
