Chance for Black Caps to move on

squad and it seems quite fresh and the boys are ready to go.’’

Two of those new faces, spinners Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville, are together again for the first time since their respective stunning debuts in the United Arab Emirates last November in a likely three-spin attack. That 2-1 series win was New Zealand’s first in 49 years against Pakistan away.

It’s been a while in the stifling humidity of Sri Lanka, too, New Zealand’s only test series win 35 years ago when the hosts were the newbies.

New Zealand arrive as test cricket’s second-ranked side after five successive series wins, four of those at home. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, were described by leading cricket writer Andrew Fidel Fernando of Espncricinfo as ‘‘an acid trip in cricketing form’’.

Last time at home they lost 3-0 to England, then, after a 2-0 hiding in Australia became the first subcontinent team to win a test series in South Africa, 2-0 under new captain Dimuth Karunaratne.

There’s inevitable off-field drama, too, with coach Chandika Hathurusingha essentially stood down by Sri Lanka’s cricket board post-world Cup, and his deputy Rumesh Ratnayake handed the reins.

Sri Lanka’s batting looks solid with two former skippers Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews returning, but their spin stocks aren’t as imposing in the postrangana Herath era. Offspinner Akila Dananjaya returns from a ban for a suspect action, joining two-test left-armer Lasith Embuldeniya as the frontliners.

Galle is one of world cricket’s spin havens and produced a result in its past 10 tests. The last five were won by the side batting first, all by 200-plus runs, which puts major emphasis on the toss. Even the coach of the Silver Ferns’ fiercest netball rival is in awe of the side’s stunning transformation under Noeline Taurua.

Australian coach Lisa Alexander has long admired Taurua, but that only increased after New Zealand’s upset 52-51 World Cup final win over the Diamonds in Liverpool last month.

It was a rags to riches storyline for the Ferns, who were an absolute mess at last April’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, finishing fourth. Taurua replaced Janine Southby as coach in late August 2018 and in less than 12 months guided the broken Ferns to a world title.

‘‘She should be lauded for it and she should have a street parade and a statue put in her name in New Zealand because it’s been an enormous amount of work that she’s put in and she’s done it very deliberately,’’ Alexander told Stuff.

Alexander and the wounded Diamonds will switch their focus to October’s Constellation Cup four-match series against the Ferns, starting in Christchurch on October 13.

Australia have held the Constellation Cup since 2013, winning six straight series. Surrendering it to the Ferns after the despair of the World Cup would be a nightmare scenario for Australian netball.

Like the Diamonds players, Taurua has returned to Australia’s Super Netball after the World Cup, where she is aiming to steer her Sunshine Coast Lightning club to a third straight title. They are second with two rounds to play and guaranteed of a finals berth.

Alexander has crossed paths with Taurua at Lightning training sessions through her role as Australian coach. Taurua’s knack of being able to get the best out of her players, astute netball mind, and attention to detail, were hallmarks of her success.

‘‘She’s somebody who is on a continuous learning journey. That’s what I’ve been so impressed about,’’ said Alexander, who is contracted to the end of 2020.

‘‘She’s all about high performance and she’s all about what’s best for the team as well. She’s a real team-first type of coach.’’

Taurua’s future with the Ferns is uncertain. Her contract with Netball New Zealand ended after the World Cup and is in the final year of a three-year deal with the Lightning.

Once the Lightning season is finished, Taurua will take time out to reflect what’s next for her – and that might not even include elite netball. If Taurua does want to remain in coaching, it’s unlikely she would be able to juggle both the Ferns and Lightning in 2020.

A Ferns side without Taurua at the helm would make life easier for Australia but Alexander hoped New Zealand’s inspirational coach would be involved in the Constellation Cup and beyond.

‘‘From Netball New Zealand’s perspective I would be assuming there’d be lots of conversations going on with wanting her to continue.

‘‘It’s all to do whether Noeline feels that’s what she wants to do