While New Zealand face the disappointment of playing a dead rubber in their test-series finale against England, the displays from middle-order pair Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell have been a huge tick for selectors.
Down 2-0 in the best-of-three series, the Blackcaps will finish in England wondering what could have been, squandering matchwinning positions at both Lord's and Trent Bridge. Their woes have partly come down to poor performances with the bat.
At Lord's, the Blackcaps were bowled out for 132 on the first day and collapsed from 251/4 to 285 all out in the second innings, as England chased down 277 for victory with five wickets to spare.
At Nottingham, the Blackcaps could muster a second innings of only 284, after making 553 in the first innings, again setting England a target that they chased successfully on the final day.
Exempt from the batting woes are the pair of Mitchell and Blundell, who have shared partnerships of 195 and 236 runs when batting together in the first two tests.
Mitchell tops the runscoring charts with 373 at an average of more than 124, with two centuries and a best of 190. Blundell sits third with 240 runs at an average of 60, with a best of 106 and another score of 96.
Chief selector Gavin Larsen hails the duo's display, vindicating their selections, after each debuted in their late 20s.
"It's been awesome, I've been absolutely thrilled with both of those players," Larsen said. "They've both stood up under, at times, what has been immense pressure.
"That speaks volumes to them, not only for their batting skillsets, [but] their willingness to get stuck in, and get a bit down and dirty, and enter the fight."
Across his whole test career, Mitchell has been forced to make the most of his status as the spare batter.
The 31-year-old only played in the first test, after a calf injury and positive COVID-19 test to Henry Nicholls, but hasn't looked back.
So far in his 11 tests, Mitchell has batted at No.3, No.5, No.6 and No.7, often fitting into an unavailable player's role.
That versatility at test level follows his showings at last year's Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE, where Mitchell opened the batting for the first time in his career, before a man-of-the-match display in New Zealand's semi-final win over England.
"Daryl's been extraordinary," Larsen added. "Every time we give him a gig, it seems to be in a slightly different role.
"He embraces it and just cannot wait to get stuck in."
Meanwhile, Blundell is also now settling into his role as test wicketkeeper, after playing understudy to BJ Watling for four years.
After struggling against India in 2021 and Bangladesh during the last home summer, Blundell's performances against South Africa and England have seen him comfortably assert himself as the Blackcaps' red-ball gloveman.
"Tom Blundell now, he's starting to fashion a very good career in that wicketkeeper-batsman test match role," said Larsen. "He had massive boots to fill, following on from BJ, of course.
"He's making every post a winning post. Good on him."
