And it is a measure of the feel-good factor sweeping through New Zealand cricket at the moment that they, and most observers, believe they will be highly competitive, as shown by their T20 victory at the same venue over the weekend.
South Africa are missing three players from the side that lost by four wickets with one ball remaining at Eden Park in Auckland, with JP Duminy and Morne Morkel away on paternity leave and Quinton de Kock dropped for reasons of poor form.
New Zealand, on the other hand, are without six key figures in captain and opening batsman Brendon McCullum, middle-order star Ross Taylor, power-hitting all-rounder Corey Anderson, retired spinner Daniel Vettori and pace bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult.
And yet they are by no means considering themselves underdogs, even if there is a healthy respect for the Proteas.
“The cricket we’ve been playing for the last couple of years has created a very good environment and everybody loves playing at the moment, we’re having the time of our lives. The World Cup was a massive tournament for us, but we’ve parked that, we can’t rest on those laurels and we have to continue doing the job ahead of us. If we can do well against South Africa then it’s a good sign of the depth we have,” batsman Tom Latham said on Wednesday.
It’s all a far cry from the last time New Zealand were on these shores – in 2012/13 – when coach Mike Hesson was new to the job, he had just changed the captaincy and there was outrage back in the Land of the Long White Cloud with even a national team cap being burnt in protest by a former player.
From those fearful days when a calamitous future seemed to await New Zealand cricket – in terms of economics and player numbers they are no match for the powerhouses of the game – Hesson and McCullum have crafted a top-class team playing a brand of cricket that has not only brought them great results but won them many friends.
