Fear of structural damage

Andrew Alderson, writing in the New Zealand Herald, says the scheduling of the upcoming New Zealand domestic season, with a 76 day gap between the rounds of the Plunket Shield, the four-day competition, doesn't augur well for those preparing for Test cricket.

It could be time to admit the game's up and let New Zealand focus on being one-day and T20 specialists like Ireland or the Netherlands. It is certainly time to consider whether plans for improving the country's test credentials need a revamp. The regular rhetoric about wanting a better test team may be impossible to action.

New Zealand's test ranking is eighth; below them are just Bangladesh and their opponents Zimbabwe. Plenty of words have been spouted that the test format remains a focus - but the reality is four-day cricket has been reduced to bookending the domestic season.