New Zealand won't face Australia on the road to defending their newly won World Test Championship crown.
The schedule for the 2021-23 tournament has been released, with the Blackcaps playing 13 tests, including series against Bangladesh, South Africa and Sri Lanka at home.
New Zealand's away tests against India, England and Pakistan will also count towards their final points tally.
Despite a call for more test cricket against Australia, avoiding the trans-Tasman rivals should actually help the Kiwis' chances of making a second straight final.
The last time the two sides met in a test series, Australia thrashed New Zealand 3-0 at home, with the Blackcaps barely firing a shot in anger across all three matches.
In fact, since a drawn home series against Australia in 1993, New Zealand has won just one of the last 31 tests between the two sides, with the Aussies claiming 21 victories.
England will play 22 WTC tests in the cycle, India 19, Australia 18 and South Africa 15, while New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan play 13.
The tournament kicks off in August with the five-test series between England and India, while the 2021/22 Ashes and Australia's four-test tour of India have also been included.
Each of the nine sides will play six series in total, with a win earning 12 points, a draw four and six points awarded for a tie.
Teams will be ranked on the percentage of available points won from the matches they have played in.
That is a change from the first cycle, which saw each series worth 120 points, regardless of how many tests were played.
ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice says the change in points systems comes in the interest of fairness.
"The aim was to try and simplify the points system, and to allow teams to be meaningfully compared on the table at any point," he says.
Teams can still be penalised for slow over rates with a one-point deduction for every over.
Australia lost a spot in the final, after being docked points for slow over rates during the 2020/21 test series against India.
