Ross Taylor has been cleared to play in the Blackcaps' final one-day international against Bangladesh on Friday, after missing the first two matches with a hamstring injury.
On Thursday, the 37-year-old passed a fitness test and will almost certainly slot into his No. 4 spot in the NZ batting order to play his first ODI of the summer.
Taylor's fitness will come at the expense of batsman Will Young, although selectors may choose to use the dead rubber as an opportunity to see the right-hander bat at No.3, with Devon Conway having proven his worth with 72 runs in New Zealand's five-wicket victory on Tuesday.
"I was pretty close to playing in the last game to be fair," Taylor says.
"If it was a test match, or a World Cup semi-final or final, I would have played.
"It feels good, it's been a strange old year or so - we haven't played any one-day cricket. I'm looking forward to playing a format that I enjoy playing."
With the Twenty20 World Cup to be held later this year, Taylor adds that he's still playing in the hope of sealing a spot in the Blackcaps' shortest form setup, despite having lost his place to the likes of Conway and Glenn Phillips.
"I've still got ambitions [for] that T20 World Cup," he insists.
"There's still a lot to go. The selectors have wanted to give these guys an opportunity, which is fair enough.
"This format, especially in New Zealand, is a good way of getting these guys into international cricket if they're not going to play a lot of one-day cricket or test cricket.
"There's still a lot of things to, a lot of injuries, and a lot of cricket in the winter. I'm here."
Taylor adds that despite having wrapped up the series on Tuesday, the Blackcaps aren't taking their eyes off the ball - with vital qualification points for the 2023 World Cup on the line.
"It's nice to have wrapped up the series, but there's still World Cup points on offer. There's no dead rubbers.
"As we've seen throughout the whole summer, teams who've come out of quarantine have taken a couple of games to get ready.
"We had a bit of luck go our way in the last game, and I'm sure Bangladesh will want to finish the game on a high note."
The Blackcaps currently hold an unassailable 2-0 series lead after two matches, and can seal a whitewash in the third and final ODI at the Basin Reserve.
Join Newshub for live updates of the Blackcaps v Bangladesh from 11am Friday.
