The BLACKCAPS must adjust quickly back to their own conditions in order to exploit them against Sri Lanka, according to captain Brendon McCullum.
McCullum’s men begin a bumper home summer today in the first ANZ Test against their familiar foe at Dunedin’s University Oval.
Following a strong finish in their three-Test series against Australia, which they were unlucky not to draw, McCullum is imploring his charges to reset their sights to ensure they hit the ground running against Sri Lanka.
"We like to treat series in isolation, but we can’t neglect the fact that we made some strong developments over that Australian tour from where we started to where we finished off, so we’ve got to take out those positives,” he said on the eve of the first Test.
“There are different quirks and different nuances of playing in New Zealand, and playing on these sorts of grounds and on these sorts of wickets, so you've got to make some pretty quick adjustments and that’s what we’ve discussed as a group.
"We want to take the learnings from Australia, but make sure we’re on song tactically and strategically when it comes time to play here.”
Impressive spinning allrounder Mitchell Santner’s retained his spot at number six after a nerveless debut in Adelaide and McCullum’s tipping big things from the 23-year-old going forward.
“He is an incredibly unflappable character for such a young guy in terms of experience and he’s really fitted into this team quickly. I’m sure over the next couple of years we’re going to see a guy develop into a world class allrounder."
The BLACKCAPS have a formidable home record, having not lost a Test or an ANZ International Series in their backyard since going down 0-1 to South Africa in 2011/12.
Sri Lanka also must put their tour here a year ago to the back of their minds, when they were soundly whitewashed 2-0 with Trent Boult and Tim Southee taking 22 wickets between them.
The first ball is at 10.30am today, live on SKY SPORT.
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