KEY POINTS:
A big night looms in Melbourne next Friday.
The second Chappell Hadlee ODI at Australia's biggest ground will be on, when New Zealand, if they lose the opener in Perth tomorrow night, will be desperate to win.
Well yes, but if you're wondering what New Zealand's players will
probably be doing besides that, here's a clue: they'll have their laptops out.
For several, the serious business will be in progress in India with the second auction for players hoping for a slice of the Indian Premier League action.
Last season, New Zealand players were parked up in Napier, munching pizza and studying the computers as five players went under the hammer in Mumbai. Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor followed later.
Next week Mills is, deservedly, up again, his contractual terms last year being different from captain Dan Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram.
Stephen Fleming, now retired, and Scott Styris, an ODI player only, are the others in the mix from last season.
IPL officials have deemed eight other New Zealanders fit for the meat market.
Jesse Ryder and Tim Southee are no great surprise. James Franklin, dropped a few weeks ago but an allround talent, gets a look in.
The others are batsmen Peter Fulton and Jamie How, offspinner Jeetan Patel and fast-medium men Chris Martin and Mark Gillespie.
With the greatest respect to some of them, you have to wonder if Indian officials have rocks in their heads.
Then again, 12 Bangladesh players are included among the 111 players to be put up on the slab next week, and even one Zimbabwean. The quality, ahem, varies.
There's a mountain of Australians, ranging from top-class operators like Michael Clarke and Stuart Clark down to the internationally renowned Michael Klinger and Travis Birt.
Sri Lanka, India's puppet after pouring US$70 million into that country's cricket in return for their unswerving loyalty to the IPL, have a pile in the mix, so too England and South Africa.
There is no confirmation, of course, that these players will all get snapped up by the Delhi Daredevils or the Rajasthan Royals. So minds will be firmly on the job in Melbourne, you'd hope.
If they are beaten in Perth tomorrow night, any hopes of a series win will depend on their night out at the "G".
Three games remain after that, but New Zealand won't win three on the bounce over there.
Rely on that.
Sir Richard Hadlee, asked his thoughts on New Zealand's prospects, came up with this: "The opportunity of playing for your country, on live TV going around the world, if you perform, there are all sorts of opportunities with the IPL and the ICL so you don't want to bugger it up."
Grammatically a bit muddled but you get the drift: do well for your country and Twenty20 riches overseas await. Priorities? Hmm.
Thursday's six-wicket loss to the Prime Minister's XI was depressing. Unable to defend 271 against a collection of no-names thanks to a sloppy bowling and fielding performance, what chance on the big stages against the best Australia can muster, even if it is some way below their best of a couple of years ago.
Dress rehearsals, eh.
You have to hope the old stage line about things being all right on the night has something more substantial to it than simply crossed fingers behind the back.
If not, it could be a few days to forget.
