Blackcaps white-ball cricketers have reacted to the postponement of their one-day and T20 tour to Australia.
Newshub can reveal all-rounder Mitchell Santner would have captained the trip to Australia, and while he and the rest of the touring squad were disappointed, there is a silver lining.
"The Chappell-Hadlee series is something that's pretty enjoyable to play in, so I guess to have that cancelled is pretty disappointing," says spin bowler Ish Sodhi.
That disappointment runs even deeper for would-be skipper Santner.
"It was obviously something I was looking forward to," he tells Newshub. "I guess, for the white-ball players, we don't have a lot of international stuff until the end of March now."
One-day international regulars now have to wait until the end of March to play their next match - more than a year after their last.
"We played a couple of Ford Trophy games last week in Auckland," says Santner. "That felt very strange, playing some 50-over cricket."
The upside for domestic cricket is that the T20 Super Smash will be at full strength for the remainder of the competition.
And when Northern Brave take on Canterbury Kings in a top of the table clash on Friday, it will feature 13 current and former Blackcaps.
"To have big guys like Tim [Southee] and Trent [Boult] back, especially in the business end of the competition, it's a good thing for us," says Sodhi.
Test opener and regular limited-overs captain Tom Latham agrees: "It’s great for the competition in terms of having pretty much full-strength sides, but obviously disappointing the team can't go to Australia."
As a test mainstay, Latham would have missed the tour, preparing for the two-match home series against South Africa.
And while it's a long way from the rivalry of a Chappell-Hadlee series, Northern and Canterbury have plenty to play for, with the winners likely to book a home final.
"Obviously, there'll be some in-camp sort of banter, I'd imagine, floating around," says Latham.
That Blackcaps banter is reserved for a now-stacked domestic competition, at least until next month, when the Proteas arrive.
