Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson has provided an encouraging update on his ongoing elbow injury on the eve of the first test against England.
The injury prevented Williamson taking any part in New Zealand's home summer schedule, missing all four test matches against Bangladesh and South Africa, as well as the final test of their tour to India.
The 31-year-old admitted the nature of the tendon issue had been a continual source of frustration, joking he'd at times been tempted to "cut it off".
But heading into the first of a three-test series at Lord's on Thursday (NZ time), Williamson insisted he'd made great progress with the injury's rehabilitation.
"It's significantly improved, which is the pleasing thing," Williamson said. "Obviously having that time out of the game was beneficial to get it back on track somewhat.
"Although it was a very frustrating period of grappling with it, it is nice to be back into full training and back into cricket really, which is really exciting, and back with the team after watching them on the sidelines for a little bit.
"So, that is nice to see that improvement."
That improvement hasn't been reflected in Williamson's form with the bat recently,as he struggled to make an impact during the Indian Premier League, averaging just 19.63 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad. His lone outing with the red ball resulted in a nine-ball duck in the Blackcaps shock seven-wicket loss in a warm-up match against a County Select XI last week.
The Blackcaps will need their talisman back to his best if they're to have any hope of defending their World Test Championship crown - a feat that seems almost out of reach, after their defeat in India and two costly drawn test series on home soil against the Proteas and the Tigers.
"That was an amazing occasion and a proud achievement for New Zealand cricket," he said of the WTC final win over India at Southampton 12 months ago. "When you're involved in a side, your motivation is about trying to move the team forward and, whether that's in different matches that have different context, the motivation is still there.
"Everybody wants to win. Whether you have a certain number next to your name or not, it's always competitive.
"You always have different transitions. Since then, there's been a number of players that have retired [Ross Taylor and BJ Watling], and that's just part of that big picture.
"So, although they're fond memories, and it wasn't all that long ago, you certainly don't rest on matches that were played a year ago."
One of the biggest talking points heading into the upcoming series has been the appointment of Blackcaps great Brendon McCullum as England's test coach.
It's added another element of intrigue to the series, as the former captain prepares to take to the other side of the fence against many of his former teammates.
That includes Williamson, who shrugged off any suggestion it would be "weird" lining up against his "good mate".
"It's a great opportunity for Brendon, such a positive guy and an amazing leader as well," he said. "He does tend to have a strong impact wherever he goes and clearly the English set-up have seen some strong qualities in him that they want as a part of their set-up. So yeah, it's exciting.
"We're good mates and he's mates with a number of the guys and there's a lot of history there. But you know, cricket's cricket, so for us, it's focusing on what we want to do.
"No doubt they'll be working hard and Brendon will be certainly getting right in the mix of things to do what he does, but at the end of the day, it's going to be an exciting contest and one that both sides are looking forward to."
Williamson confirmed Daryl Mitchell would replace injured Henry Nicholls at No. 5 for the first test, while paceman Trent Boult's status would be reassessed closer to the start of play.
