KEY POINTS:
You might think New Zealand's players would have swiftly consigned their recent Australian experience to the round filing bin.
Wrong. Even in times of serious pain, there are lessons to absorb. New Zealand are trying to crib some advantage out of their 2-0 beating ahead of the start
of the first test against the West Indies at University Oval tomorrow.
At various points in both tests New Zealand were highly competitive, only to tumble badly at critical stages.
The trick now is to take advantage of the experience against opponents who have not played a test since June.
"That's the beauty of playing against Australia," wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum said yesterday after an indoor practice session at rainy Dunedin.
"You are battle-hardened regardless of whether you go down in the manner we did. We've still come up against the best in the business, so there will be some sort of edge."
Whereas New Zealand have played four tests in the last eight weeks (a win and draw in Bangladesh before Australia), the West Indies are hamstrung by a lack of five-day cricket.
Their last test series was at home to Australia six months ago, when they were also beaten. New Zealand are hoping to prosper from their opponents' unfamiliarity with the long game.
McCullum said the players had been stung by their performance in Australia.
"We know what we did over there wasn't good enough. We've got high expectations on ourselves to perform and we're our harshest critics. You get some sprays in the media, but that's nothing to what you're feeling within yourself," he said.
A couple of players who won't be feeling the hurt are allrounders Jacob Oram and James Franklin. Oram missed Australia, recovering from a back injury which cut short his time in Bangladesh; Franklin is back in the squad after 18 months' absence with long-term knee problems.
Oram, who has got through plenty of overs in his return to action for Central Districts, but had only one bat since October 21, is familiar with the feeling of starting anew.
He has a close relationship with New Zealand Cricket medical staff - a legacy of his injury-plagued last few seasons.
"Being out of it for a while it feels like a whole fresh start," Oram said. "For me, it's a clean slate, and unfortunately I've had many opportunities to get used to that.
"I'm not part of the criticism [in Australia] but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt watching the games and feeling for the guys."
Oram is sure to play tomorrow, but Franklin is a possibility for the 12th man job, the other candidate being Wellington team-mate, offspinner Jeetan Patel.
Patel's inclusion in the 12 raised eyebrows, given the University Oval is generally seen as more favourable to seamers.
The word got out that the pitch for Otago's State Championship match against Northern Districts last month helped the spinners. Otago Cricket chief executive Ross Dykes last night played down that talk.
"It turned slowly, but didn't have much bounce," the former Auckland wicketkeeper and national selector said.
While Dykes said having Patel in the 12 was a sensible course of action to cover all bases, he hinted that the pitch will be more conducive for the fast-medium bowlers.
"It's well grassed, and hard and I'd suggest has a little more pace than the Bangladesh test [a year ago] and maybe a little more bounce.
"But it's been under cover for close to 48 hours, so it's sweated and greened up a bit."
