Our style of play gives us the best chance - Hesson

The last time New Zealand were in South Africa, they were a mess. Against the backdrop of a captaincy controversy, which saw Ross Taylor step down after a spat with Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum take over in difficult circumstances, they cracked down the middle and crashed to innings defeats in both Tests. They teetered on the point of crisis, Hesson appeared a man condemned and their ODI series win was completely clouded over.

Two years later, neither Taylor nor McCullum has returned with New Zealand - the former has a groin injury, the latter is being rested, but Hesson is back and has plenty to show for it. He is still in charge, for a start, and his charges have come good. As he put, it they have had "pretty big two years" after plunging the depths in South Africa, which proved a turning point for their cricket.

"The one-day series win the last time we were over here was a big start for us," Hesson said in Durban. "We hadn't won a series in SA and we were under-strength, so to win that was a big achievement for us. That was the start of a pretty big two years culminating in a World Cup final and the Test team moving up the rankings steadily. We are improving."

New Zealand have not lost a Test series in two years, since they last visited England in 2013. They have since played seven series, won four and drawn three. In the same period, they have played ten bilateral ODI series, won five, drawn two and lost three.

They have done all of that with a similar group of players to the bunch that visited South Africa two years ago; similar but different because some of them have grown up. Kane Williamson, who was but a promising kid back then, is now the stand-in ODI captain; Martin Guptill has become more dangerous; he has an ODI double-hundred to his name and Nathan McCullum remains a consistent presence. The same youngsters who made the trip then are making the trip now: Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Doug Bracewell and Mitchell McClenaghan, this time with the promise of more game time.

With good results, they could establish themselves as part of the core that Hesson believes is getting stronger, but that is only half the secret to New Zealand's success. "A true test of a side is how well they go away from home. Just about every side performs well at home because that's what they have grown up doing. We have started to win series away from home on a relatively consistent basis and that's a sign that we are making progress."

Among New Zealand's recent victories was a Test series win in the West Indies and ODI series victory in the UAE , two places where unfamiliar territory was as much a challenge to them as the opposition. New Zealand conquered the conditions through careful planning, which most teams regard as a luxury in the modern schedule. "We've been able to extend our prep time by four or five days. We plan a long time in advance in terms of the series we are likely to be confronted with. You tend to do that when you get rolled over," Hesson explained. "It doesn't always guarantee success but it gives you the best chance. We like to be as diligent as we can about those kinds of things."

For this trip to South Africa, New Zealand prepared with two warm-up games in Pretoria before heading to Zimbabwe. Apart from one defeat in Harare, the rest of their recce was successful and they were able to come to terms with winter conditions in Africa. They are not unlike summer conditions in New Zealand - slower surfaces with not much bounce, which may be less conducive to the attacking cricket that New Zealand enjoy playing. "The wickets will be conducive to good cricket, possible not as aggressive as the cricket as we saw in England due to the nature of the surfaces," Hesson said.

But that won't change New Zealand's approach too much. They are confident in their blueprint and ready to show they have come full circle: from a mess into a mature outfit with the same man, Hesson, manning the ship.

"We've identified the way we want to play our cricket, the way we want to be known and respected by our own fans and we're proud of the way we play the game, " Hesson said. "As a group we've looked at our strengths and weaknesses and tried and work out how you can generate some consistency. It looks great when it works and when it doesn't, occasionally, it doesn't look so good but if you accept that's the way you want to play, you can cope with the outcomes."