Forget the players - a series win in Australia will mean the world to Mike Hesson.
It has been 30 years since New Zealand beat Australia in a test series across the Tasman but the Black Caps coach reckons he could describe every one of the wickets Sir Richard Hadlee took during the opening game of the 1985 series.
Hesson was just 11-years-old at the time but already a full-blown cricket tragic.
''Oh yeah,'' Hesson happily confessed.
''I remember that game vividly and I can probably recite all of Hadlee's nine for 52.
''It was just an amazing test match. Obviously Hadlee's 15 wickets [in the match] were special, but [Martin] Crowe's hundred, John Reid's hundred and Hadlee's 50 with the bat at the end helped.''
Australia rebounded to win the second test in Sydney but New Zealand clinched the series win in Perth, Hadlee claiming five for 65 and six for 90.
Since then, there has been just the one test win in Australia when Doug Bracewell took six for 40 in Hobart in 2011.
But that series finished in a draw and Hesson hopes his side can end the drought.
The Black Caps will play three away tests against their rivals in November and it is a chance to help balance the ledger.
''We know how tough it is to win over there,'' Hesson said.
''They know their conditions well. They have a large pool of players to pick from and a lot of competition for places.
''They've been the world leaders for the last 20 years and that's why, if you win over there, you deserve it.
''I just think, for a New Zealand cricketer, winning in Australia is the big thing. The guys have been excited about this duel for a long time.''
Australia's test team is in transition following the retirements of experienced players such as Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Ryan Harris.
But Hesson is not convinced that means the Baggy Greens will be vulnerable.
''I think sometimes you want to get a team when they've got a few guys who are actually over the hill,'' he joked.
''But because they have so many players, there is always competition for places. There hasn't been a poor Australian team for a number of years, so I don't imagine this will be any different.''
One of the big talking points before the much-anticipated series has centred around the third test in Adelaide where day-night test cricket will make its debut and so will the pink ball.
Hesson described it as a step into the unknown but there have been murmurings on both sides of the Ditch.
The major concern is that the pink ball will not swing as much and will soften more rapidly. Neither is very encouraging for a fast bowler.
The game could well end up being the series decider, and playing it under unfamiliar, or even experimental, conditions hardly seems ideal.
''I don't think experiment is the right word because they've done that [experimenting] for years. They've had many games with pink balls. It is just that this is the first test match.''
However, Hesson accepted the pink ball would have different characteristics.
''It is very much in between a white one and red one,'' he said.
''A white ball does not last more than 30 overs really, in terms of keeping its colour, and it gets really soft.
''They [Kookaburra] have apparently worked pretty hard to make sure the pink ball does not do the same.
''There has been talk of the ball getting really soft. It certainly does not buff up as well as the red ball.''
While there were some initial reservations, Hesson said once the decision was made to play a day-night test, ''everyone got excited about it''.
''There are going to be big crowds in Adelaide. It is a world first, so there is a lot of media interest.
''It is unknown. But, at the moment, it is not our focus because if we turn up for the third test and we've lost the series, it is irrelevant. We have to make sure we get the first two tests right first.''
New Zealand players will trial the pink ball during a warm-up game in Hamilton on October 8-9.
There is also more than a week between the second and third test, which is plenty of time to adjust to the pink ball with the black seam, Hesson said.
