Adam Parore: Next Sri Lanka - but all bets are off

In ordinary circumstances, New Zealand would start clear favourites for a home series against Sri Lanka.

But these are not ordinary times. You cannot call a team which has just been thumped from pillar to post favourites next time up.

No one is comparing Sri Lanka to Australia. Sri Lanka are competent, with some good players, like Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara among the batsmen, and Chaminda Vaas leading the bowling attack. But they should not scare you.

They are not Australia, who are in a league of their own.

I expect New Zealand to win at least one test and let's hope commonsense prevails and we prepare greentop pitches at McLean Park in Napier for next week's first test and at the Basin Reserve for the second match. Anything other than that is plain barmy.

During my time in the New Zealand team, the two teams we always backed ourselves to beat in our own conditions were India and Sri Lanka. Why? They didn't like the ball seaming about and with a bit of pace behind it.

We go to the sub-continent and play on pitches turning sideways. And that's fair enough. It's their backyard. New Zealand should adopt the same policy.

Despite what they have been through against Australia, I suspect most of the New Zealand players will come out of the experience reasonably undamaged.

Put it this way: if you were assessing your preparation for an upcoming series, then given a choice, I'd rather be in the position of having played well in a badly beaten team than have been out of touch in a good, in-form side.

If you look at some of the individuals, they should be looking forward to the Sri Lankan series.

Collectively they've been battered. Individually, some will figure they're not in bad shape.

Take James Franklin. He bagged six wickets in an innings against Australia. Not many bowlers anywhere do that.

He'd taken some poundings from them on both sides of the Tasman this summer, but he finished on a high, and showed he had some decent batting credentials as well.

Hamish Marshall won't be scared of anyone after his summer with the bat.

Craig Cumming and James Marshall will now know things can only get easier at the top of the order. Both are sensible sorts who shouldn't be carrying any mental baggage.

Lou Vincent's been given another chance and he's got some runs. He can hold his head up.

New Zealand will miss Daniel Vettori, but then again, it's a chance for Paul Wiseman to stand up as No 1 spinner.

Don't expect Vettori back for the second test. Why should he? He'd be better off with four months off to rest his troublesome back before the August Zimbabwe tour.

Wiseman has taken plenty of wickets this summer, he's experienced, he's in form and he'll relish the chance of being first choice.

Spinners tend to mature late, Vettori being an obvious exception. This could be Wiseman's time.

Maybe the most intriguing aspect will be seeing how well New Zealand play against an average international side rather than the hotshots of the test scene.

If they play well and win, it will show just how dominant Australia are in the modern game.

If New Zealand struggle, then we'll know there are deeper-seated problems.

You don't like to make excuses, but that injury list is imposing. The absences of Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Ian Butler and, of course, Shane Bond have been particularly unfortunate.

It's up to those who have been given a chance to step up. Australia was a huge examination. Sri Lanka represent the chance to show the benefits of that examination.