KEY POINTS:
In many ways, John Bracewell must feel a bit like All Blacks' coach Graham Henry as he approaches today's squad announcement for the first test against Sri Lanka.
Henry was the selector who finished a memorable international season with an embarrassment of riches, to the extent that he
can now call on several top combinations, and two or three players of equal ability in every position.
It's much the same for Bracewell, who starts this summer's programme safe in the knowledge that - with a couple of exceptions - he could pick almost anyone in his batting line-up without compromising the team performance.
Yet, just as Henry's test selections became impossible to forecast because of the number of options available, so too have Bracewell's, in the sense that none of his contenders appear any better or worse than the others.
Apart from Stephen Fleming, he could pick two or three batting line-ups that would perform roughly the same, no matter who the opposition were.
Who does he pick? Jamie How or Mathew Sinclair; Lou Vincent or Hamish Marshall? Does he go for Peter Fulton as an opener, as a No 3, or not at all, and should he consider Craig Cumming, James Marshall or Tim McIntosh?
Should he pick his six best batsmen and nominate two for opening duties, or should he pick his best two specialist openers, and leave out a couple of top contenders in the bottleneck between No 3 and No 6?
The big question is, does it matter? And the answer is, probably not.
You could throw all the names into a hat and come up with as good a top six as Bracewell will name this afternoon, and there's no guarantee that the New Zealand coach won't be using a similar modus operandi.
For all that, if he dares to pick Hamish Marshall again he runs the risk of attracting the eye of human rights activists, such has been the torture and damage inflicted on everyone over the past 12 months.
Marshall has had more than his share of chances.
Surely, players such as Sinclair, Vincent or even young tyro Ross Taylor have been waiting in the wings for long enough, and can make a better case for selection than Marshall, who continues to be picked on the flimsiest of evidence.
For all that, it probably won't matter.
Even if the players selected around Fleming and Nathan Astle succeed against Sri Lanka when the first test starts in Christchurch on Thursday, it will suggest only that the others would probably have also put up a showing.
Doubtless, there will also be calls for Bracewell to solve his problems by trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat, such as picking Auckland opener McIntosh on the strength of his 205 against Otago last month.
The trouble is, Bracewell has tried that sort of thing before; he's starting to run out of bunnies he doesn't know on a first-name basis.
In all likelihood, he'll stick with the same old suspects, possibly on the basis that New Zealand tend to perform well against Sri Lanka at home, and that there isn't anyone else with better credentials.
It would be no surprise to see Fulton tried again at the top of the order, probably with Jamie How - although Craig Cumming appeals as the most solid, consistent and reliable contender.
Scott Styris' unavailability creates a vacancy in the middle order, opening up the possibility of a recall for Vincent or Sinclair, and creating a hint of an opportunity for Taylor.
But whoever Bracewell chooses, just as many others with similar claims will feel desperately unlucky to have missed out.
The consolation for us is the knowledge that, should they ever be required, they will make no difference whatsoever.
Possible squad
Stephen Fleming (captain), Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel.