After more than a month on the sidelines, Blackcaps batter Devon Conway says he's hungry at the prospect of returning to cricket, starting with Bangladesh on New Year's Day at Mt Maunganui.
Fresh from a 12-month period that's seen him become a key cog across all three formats for the Blackcaps, Conway has been out of action since November - breaking his hand by punching his bat in New Zealand's Twenty20 World Cup semi-final victory over England in the UAE.
Sitting out of the Blackcaps' T20 and test series defeats away to India, Conway could find himself back in action as early as Tuesday, named to turn out for the New Zealand XI in their two-day warm up against Bangladesh.
Should Conway pass fit and get through the fixture unscathed, then the left-hander will almost certainly take his place alongside Tom Latham at the top of the Blackcaps' order for the first test of the summer - starting Saturday.
Conway's immediate challenge though is to prove that he is in fact fit and free of any pain from that broken hand, and hit the nets at the Mount - where he was tested out by some of his Blackcaps teammates.
"After walking out of that net today, lifting up that intensity has allowed me to sort of have that confidence into the next couple of days," Conway tells Newshub.
"[I'm] looking forward to the challenges against the Bangladeshis in the next two days. It was a very good net today. I got to face Neil Wagner and Trent Boult at a pretty high intensity.
"It was good to get those net sessions in, and lift up that intensity - which is quite exciting. [I'm] looking forward to what's happening ahead.
"I'm very happy from my end. I was a little bit nervous going into some of the training sessions. But I'm pretty happy with the way things are placed.
"I'm looking forward to the next couple of days and to play in the practice game against Bangladesh."
But after time out of the side, Conway is returning to cricket hungry to score more runs - and could line up for his first home test match after making his debut in England earlier this year.
In his short time as a Blackcap, Conway has been part of the side that won the inaugural World Test Championship, and reached the final of the Twenty20 World Cup.
But after being forced to watch on from his couch over the past month, Conway missed out on a Blackcaps' test series that saw Wellington teammate Rachin Ravindra block out a heroic draw on debut in India, as well as see Ajaz Patel create New Zealand history with a 10-wicket haul at Mumbai.
And in some terrible news if you're a Bangladesh bowler, the left-hander is motivated for more success than he's already achieved in his short time as an international cricketer.
"It was certainly disappointing, watching from a distance," he adds.
"Going through that little mistake I did in the semi-final, when I punched my bat. It was that little regret of knowing I wish I'd never done that, I could have been in India fighting alongside with the guys.
"But it was also a nice opportunity to watch from a distance, and support. It's allowed me to find that hunger to keep training hard and enjoy playing for the Blackcaps and really thrive for all the opportunities that present themselves."
And even though his immediate focus is on Bangladesh, the main event of New Zealand's home summer will be hard for Conway to avoid looking ahead to - with his native South Africa touring in early 2022.
Conway moved to New Zealand from South Africa, before establishing himself as a domestic star for Wellington over the last few years as he gained eligible status to turn out for the Blackcaps.
But now as an established Blackcap, Conway will have one eye on facing the Proteas in two tests, starting at Christchurch on February 17.
"I've always wanted to play against South Africa, I haven't had that opportunity to play them yet.
"It'll be a great experience for me and obviously my family to play against them, especially in New Zealand as well.
"I've just got to get through the next couple of days, and then hopefully get a chance to play in this test series against Bangladesh, and then look forward to what might lay ahead.
"If that allows me to play against South Africa in late January, early February, that'll be very exciting times for me as well. I'm looking forward to it."
