After seven years in the wilderness, Otago batter Hamish Rutherford seems somewhat bemused by his latest call-up to the national cricket team for their upcoming test against South African at Christchurch.
With the retirement of Blackcaps veteran Ross Taylor and captain Kane Williamson still nursing a bothersome elbow injury, the key No.3 and No.4 spots in the batting order seems wide open, as the reigning world test champions try to resurrect their title defence against the Proteas this month.
When Williamson is healthy, he would regain his place at first drop, with Devon Conway a natural replacement for Taylor further down. With the skipper sidelined, Conway batted at three against Bangladesh, with the departing Taylor next.
Enter Hamish Rutherford, 32, better known as an opener, but willing to try his hand anywhere he's required.
"Sometimes you wonder if you will ever get the nod again, but you always hold out hope," he tells Newshub. "There's definitely a motivation for me to continue to drive and get better, and learn different parts of my game.
"Whether or not I ever thought it would happen, who knows, but that's the dream you have when you start playing and I'm fortunate again to be given an opportunity to maybe fulfill that."
Rutherford could be forgiven for abandoning hope, after compiling 16 test appearances between 2013-15, mainly at the top of the order, compiling 755 runs at an average of 26.96.
He burst onto the international scene with a magnificent 171 against England - the seventh-highest score for a test debutant and second among left-handed rookies, behind South African Jacques Rudolph.
For a while, he seemed the long-term answer to the Blackcaps' issues at the top of their order, but that ended against Sri Lanka two years later. Apart from a brief stint with the T20 side in 2019, Rutherford has been consigned to domestic cricket, where he has continued to score runs for Otago Volts.
He admits he's known for several weeks that he was back in the test picture, but while Taylor's No.4 spot seems like the vacancy, Rutherford hints he's been told to prepare for role higher up, as a straight swap for Williamson.
"Although I haven't batted a lot at three, but I have in the past, so whatever role, to be honest, I'll be jumping at the opportunity.
"My chances of playing, who knows? Hopefully, I get a nod and can put on a performance."
Rutherford insists he has matured as a cricketer in his absence from the international spotlight, learning the lessons he was expected to pick up on the fly in his early career.
"I bring a number of years experience, having played here and most places in the world, so you can always call on that experience.
"When I first played, I was almost learning on the job a little bit, which happens from time to time, especially in New Zealand," he chuckles. "A younger player gets an opportunity and they're learning in the gig."
Father Ken Rutherford played 56 tests over a decade in the national side - including three years as captain - but was infamously sacrificed as a teenage opener against the vaunted West Indies fast-bowling attack on debut, before settling into a more natural spot down the batting order.
"I wasn't able to learn and put performances on the board," admits Rutherford Jr. "That's my story.
"It's now my 13th or 14th season, so I've played enough cricket now to know what I'm about, on the field and off the field as well. Even handling the media and everything that comes with it can be a challenge.
"I'm just excited now to go out and have another crack."
Blackcaps squad for first test against South Africa: Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Cam Fletcher, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Will Young
Join Newshub for live updates of the first Blackcaps test against South Africa, starting February 17
