The only survivor from that match is the present stand-in skipper Kyle Mills, who will be impressing on his players that they need to deliver far more than they did in their 3-0 bouncing by Bangladesh in that ODI rubber.
Things may get stickier before they turn sweet, however. Sri Lanka are ranked fourth in ODI cricket, and close to second; New Zealand sit eighth. Sri Lanka have a clutch of quality operators.
The batting will be led by Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillekaratne Dilshan and captain and allrounder Angelo Matthews, all skilled, experienced batsmen.
The slippery, deceptive slinger, Lasith Malinga, sleight-of-hand spinner Ajantha Mendis and the orthodox left armer (and past nemesis) Rangana Herath lead a bowling group who can be expected to make life difficult for batsmen not completely at home in the sub-continent.
Of much interest will be seeing the development of a younger group making their way in the side. The squad does look skinny. There's no Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson and Tim Southee over there so there's an obvious challenge.
Three lefthanders, busy opener Anton Devcich, bristling Colin Munro - fresh off back-to-back clubbings of modest Bangladeshi bowling - and the prodigious hitter Corey Anderson have the chance to make it clear they could have parts to play with an eye far off on the World Cup in early 2015. Hamish Rutherford, woefully out of touch, simply needs runs.
There is a recall for Canterbury opener Rob Nicol who looked to have done his chips in South Africa early this year, while Andrew Ellis adds a touch of stability, and can hit cleanly around No8.
Mills, however, is central to the bowling effort. He needs to lead by deed.
Otago's seasoned Ian Butler is back in, while fellow pace pair Mitchell McClenaghan and Adam Milne must show more than they did in Bangladesh.
So plenty to watch in an individual sense, all the while realising New Zealand must collectively find a way out of the ODI closet they stepped into in Bangladesh.
