Cricket: All smiles despite loss

The tri-series between New Zealand, India and hosts Sri Lanka in Dambulla has the whiff of a mere World Cup warm-up.

The Black Caps went down to Sri Lanka by three wickets yesterday morning but the casualness of the affair - notably the smiles on the field and the bonhomie between opposition players - suggests the tournament is only a building block for the World Cup.

It is preparing the Kiwis for the sub-continental conditions they will face against Kenya on February 20 in Chennai and - potentially - in the final at Mumbai on April 2.

New Zealand were 123 for 7 after 30 overs. The last three wickets produced 69 runs but 192 was not a competitive total.

Sri Lanka's innings was well-paced, despite losing four wickets for 42 in the third power play as they chased a bonus point win (inside 40 overs).

The itinerary is not out in complete detail but New Zealand could have at least 16 more 50-over one-day matches before the start of the Cup.

This is one of three chances to experiment with personnel, routines and logistics in the build-up - they tour Bangladesh and India later in the year before hosting Pakistan in December and January.

On the personnel front, it is good to see talent like BJ Watling and Kane Williamson getting opportunities. Watling has been solid debuting in the other two formats of the game so it came as little surprise he should compile 55 from 68 balls on his 50-over debut.

He deserves further plaudits for producing New Zealand's top score, having come back from a stomach bug that ruled him out of the opening 200-run trouncing of India.

Williamson has had a horror start with two ducks from three balls in his first two outings. Such a run might seem daunting but he can take some solace that one of Sri Lanka's best cricketers in the last generation, Marvan Atapattu, scored just one run in his first six test innings.

Like Watling, Williamson often helps to make up for any failure with the bat by his dynamism saving runs in the field. His off-spin could also prove useful on dry, turning wickets.

With Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and presumably Jesse Ryder still to return it is really about getting the new pair acclimatised to the environment on a just-in-case basis.

The Black Caps will also have seen the value of tidy medium pace and slow bowling from the opening two matches. Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram and Scott Styris look set for plenty of work over the coming months while Andy McKay and Tim Southee could fight it out for a third pace bowling spot depending on the conditions.

Apart from the performance and health fronts, the team would be well-advised to work on an antidote to cabin fever. Warren Lees has played for and coached the Black Caps on the sub-continent. He says it helps having a couple of genuine "team men" who help time pass more quickly.

"This horrible little thing called boredom can seep in. That's where a good management and social committee will organise some harmless, innocent fun.

"There tends to be a lot of downtime and you don't want young guys lying on their beds for three or four hours after training looking at the ceiling.

"Hopefully there are some guys in the mould of a John Morrison, Jeremy Coney or John Wright of days gone by; practical jokers who can entertain themselves and the team."

If the Black Caps can work on developing a more holistic touring package in the coming months, they may stand a better chance of putting a red ring around April 2 on the calendar.