KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's beleaguered top-order have been promised another acid test when the first test against Sri Lanka starts next week.
The touring Sri Lankans practiced in Dunedin yesterday, ahead of their warm-up match against Otago, and wasted no time in talking up their bowling attack - which has
laid the foundations for three consecutive test wins.
Back in June, Sri Lanka rolled England in the third test at Nottingham before returning home to post back-to-back wins over South Africa - the first by an innings and 153 runs; the second after successfully chasing down 352.
By contrast, New Zealand were demolished by South Africa in their most recent test series and will start next week's showdown with a crisis looming over their top-order - a point not lost on the Sri Lankans.
Coach Tom Moody said yesterday he was delighted with the form and attitude of his bowling attack this season and was confident that players such as pacemen Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas - and star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan - would continue to make life difficult for their hosts.
"Obviously, in professional sport, you keep an eye on all your international opponents and New Zealand have clearly had some issues with their top-order batting; they've been shuffling players around a fair bit," said Moody.
"All I can say is that I've been very pleased with the form our bowlers are showing. Malinga and Dilhara have both been getting it through in excess of 150km/h and that gives us access to some genuine strike-power.
"Malinga's performed so consistently that he's now an important part of our one-day team and Dilhara's worked extremely well to come back into contention after some earlier inconsistency."
A paceman with the action of a javelin thrower, Malinga caused some problems as a rookie in New Zealand last summer and has since made a strong impression in England and against South Africa, boosting his record to 62 wickets at 32.80.
Add to the mix veteran swing bowler Vaas and Muralitharan, and the portents already seem to bode ill for the New Zealanders.
The biggest challenges facing Sri Lanka will be their short preparation time, the lack of decent match-play since the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in India, and their historic struggle to perform in New Zealand conditions.
ITINERARY - NEW ZEALAND v SRI LANKA
First test: Jade Stadium, Christchurch, December 7-11
Second test: Basin Reserve, Wellington, December 15-19