The likely cancellation of Australia's tour to Bangladesh is unlikely to be detrimental to their prospects when their tests against New Zealand starts early in November.
Ordinarily having a leadup series would enable a side to be match hardened for its next challenge.
However conditions in Bangladesh are so aliencompared to the pitches, and climates, in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide - the venues for the three New Zealand tests - as to render the series on the sub-continent near useless as a practical lead-in for the Australian players.
Cricket Australia security staff were to brief the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade today, having returned from meeting Bangladesh officials in Dhaka. An announcement is expected tomorrow.
DFAT, citing intelligence about possible militant attacks on Australian interests in Bangladesh, blocked Australia's squad from departing for the tour, which included a warmup game, to start on Saturday, followed by two tests, beginning on October 9.
The United States and Britain are expected to upgrade travel warnings for Bangladesh.
A hardline Islamist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting death of an Italian citizen in Dhaka's diplomatic zone on Monday. It warned that "citizens of the crusader coalition" would not be safe in Muslim nations.
Australia's test players have returned to training with their state squads. The expected cancellation is good news for Australian state squads, who will be bolstered on the eve of the domestic one-day competition, which starts on Monday.
In terms of preparing to face New Zealand, they will get more relevant value out of a month of tough domestic cricket in conditions they know so well than spending the month in sub-continental heat and spin friendly conditions of Bangladesh.
So turning the argument around, it's possible to argue the cancellation of the Bangladesh tour is unhelpful for New Zealand.
They will have a one-dayer against a Prime Ministers' XI in Canberra on October 23, followed by two warmup games in Canberra and Sydney before starting the first test on November 5 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Australia will field a team shorn of a pile of experience by recent retirements, such as those of former captain Michael Clarke, longtime wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and opening batsman Chris Rogers.
New Zealand should be at full strength for a series which is attracting substantial interest, on the back of the teams' World Cup final clash and a growing belief that New Zealand have a side capable of putting out a serious challenge in pursuit of what would be just a second series win on Australian soil.
