Australia's test form has plummeted since they elevated the status of the Big Bash concept three seasons ago - they are now fifth in the world. The baggy green cap doesn't seem as revered. Witness David Warner, in a variety of team colours, slogging his way across the line to another 25 off 10 balls as evidence of that.
Then there is New Zealand. Understandably the country's best players want a piece of the extraordinary money on offer in T20 leagues worldwide but it has come at a cost. New Zealand has not won a test series against any country other than Bangladesh since beating the West Indies in 2005-06 - notably the first season of the national T20 league.
Contrast the above instances with England, the best test side in the world. England has always had a strong first-class competition relative to other countries but these days it is the best and talents such as Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Jonathan Trott were nurtured in it early.
This English season, the maximum time a four-day match was absent from the calendar was 17 days. Generally it was two or three days. That sustained discipline of turning up day-in, day-out in a mixture of formats has paid dividends at the longer and shorter ends of the play scale because England are also T20 world champions. Perhaps this is a season structure NZC might consider?
There was sense in the decision to get county cricket contracts for future New Zealand test hopes during the off-season.
Batsmen Kane Williamson (average 36.13 from 23 innings for Gloucestershire) and Martin Guptill (38.35 from 16 for Derbyshire) are examples.
Those might not be the glossiest of returns but the experience is likely to be invaluable, even in sides dwelling in the second-tier of the table. English county cricket worked for New Zealand in the 1980s when the roll of honour, led by Sir Richard Hadlee, is well-documented.
In NZC's defence, the decisions they make regarding their playing calendar are for practical and commercial reasons.
The major associations' greatest earning potential comes in the holiday period; hence the HRV Cup is scheduled from December 18 to January 22. The average punter with limited leisure hours is coveted more than cricket tragics because of sheer numbers.
To be fair, the HRV Cup has given provincial contests energy - much like 50-over one-day matches did when they came onto the scene in the 1970s. However, it is too early to tell whether T20 is a sustainable solution. Even last summer, it seemed enthusiasm dipped but that could have been caused by the lack of high-profile Black Caps involvement for much of the competition.
This season's four-dayers also lead into the two main test series of the summer (Australia in early December and South Africa throughout March).
That creates a logical flow, or so it seems until you realise none of the Black Caps will be involved for the first half of this four-day season because they will be in Zimbabwe.
By February, the top players will be involved in short-form internationals against Zimbabwe and South Africa before the three Proteas tests. That leaves a weakened competition.
This is a conundrum cricket director John Buchanan may struggle to beat, even with Bowls Australia high performance manager Kim Littlejohn added to the selection panel to feed coach John Wright information gathered from the major associations.
Wright has engineered a remarkable piece of politicking to get the power of veto. He now has everything he wanted to build his own team without hindrance.
Yet a flawed schedule may still find him - and ultimately the team - wanting. If Wright fails with the test side after the efforts made by so many to get him the job, where could NZC go from there?
