In what has become a hardy annual, they have been confronted with the oh-so-familiar sight of a bright green Basin pitch for the opening West Indies test, and it would seem a bowler first option is top of the wish list for rival skippers Kane Williamson and Jason Holder.
''It always looks a little bit like that,'' opined Williamson on Thursday. ''There's always something in the wicket if you do bowl well. But generally, it's a fair surface which quickens up on day two and three.''
Holder, who toured New Zealand as a newbie fast bowler in 2013, is now the still youthful 26-year-old leader and he laid off getting too wound up about what he can see but ''I can definitely see the reason why people come and want to bowl first''.
He'll take an open mind into the toss and was reluctant to pre-determine.
One thing he is happy about is the progress of his West Indies team in the last year.
''I think we're in a pretty good place. We have built up quite nicely this year.
''The guys have played decent cricket. We're still not the finished product, there's still a lot more improvement but I think we're heading in the right direction.''