First-class cricket has been in recess since December, meaning the selection panel of Glenn Turner, captain Dan Vettori and new coach Mark Greatbatch has to put aside the surfeit of domestic Twenty20 and one-day matches played in the intervening period.
Greatbatch admitted the selectors' job had been complicated by the domestic Twenty20 competition played throughout January.
"It is not ideal scheduling but we cannot do anything about that," he said.
"We had the test series against Pakistan earlier in the season and the basis of the side will come from that. There may be a couple of surprises."
The panel intend choosing a 13-man squad for the test, which starts in Hamilton on Monday, meaning at least one new cap and possibly more will feature as they seek to fill two holes left by retirement and injury.
Out of the reckoning from the side which drew the third test against Pakistan in Napier before Christmas are fast bowler Iain O'Brien, who has retired, and batsman Grant Elliott, who remains unavailable due to a knee injury.
Elliott was the 12th man in Napier, when Vettori moved up the order to fill a specialist role at No 6. Vettori marked the occasion by scoring 134, and there is no reason to suggest he will not continue to fill the allrounder's brief.
While one-day newcomer Andy McKay looms as a potential replacement for O'Brien, given the positive impression he has made since joining that squad a week ago, Elliott's position and possibly that of No 5 batsman Daniel Flynn are up for grabs.
Flynn is vulnerable, having not cemented his position and averaging just 28.70 after 16 tests, although the selectors may want to persevere with him at No 5 after most of his tests saw him in the taxing No 3 position.
A readymade replacement or a new addition could be found in Otago's Neil Broom, who hit 566 runs at an average of 94.33, including three centuries, during the pre-Christmas Plunket Shield programme.
Into his eighth season at first-class level, Broom, 26, has served his apprenticeship, averaging close to 43 with eight centuries to his credit.
Another name likely to at least be tossed about in deliberations is that of teenager Kane Williamson, who impressed knowledgeable observers by scoring in excess of 800 runs at slightly more than 50 an innings in his first full season for Northern Districts in 2008-09.
The 19-year-old hit a dry patch in the Plunket Shield competition at the start of the summer but has since regained his form and confidence in the one-day arena, with two centuries and more than 300 runs this side of the New Year.
Also in Williamson's favour is his ability to offer overs of offspin, which could be handy if the New Zealanders continue to operate a three-pronged pace attack complemented by Vettori's left-arm spin.
Possible squad: Dan Vettori (captain), Tim McIntosh, BJ Watling, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Brendon McCullum, Daryl Tuffey, Tim Southee, Andy McKay, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel, Kane Williamson.
