Stephen Fleming was in Dunedin last week as part of a fund-raising drive for CricHQ, as the company looks to push its all-inclusive technology platform deeper into India.
But it was the performance of the national side over the last summer which had Fleming delivering effusive praise on the team and on his good friend Brendon McCullum, in particular.
Fleming had been in regular contact with McCullum throughout the summer, and was thrilled to see the Otago batsman break new ground with his score of 302 at the Basin Reserve in February.
''I was as proud as most New Zealanders, really. It was a wonderful morning to watch it. It was pretty tense watching those last few runs,'' Fleming said.
''I think it was the consistency over the summer - a 100, a 200 and a 300 is a pretty good return.
''The volume of runs from him, Ross [Taylor] and Kane [Williamson] was an outstanding feature of the summer. I don't think we've seen a run production like it, but for him to finish the summer off on that note was very fitting to the work that he put in and they put in.''
Fleming believes the positivity generated will serve the Black Caps well - not only at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, but in next year's 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
''Twenty20 is hard to predict - it's very fickle - but certainly if they can just hold the gains they've made and can look to advance with one eye on the Cricket World Cup, I think it will be a demanding but potentially rewarding season next summer.
''I think back to my day and we were hesitant at times, but it's the positivity and style of play in which they're playing.
''It's OK to have a captain and coach to preach it, but to have the players believe in it and deliver it is another thing. They've grasped the strategy of the shorter form of the game, which is taking wickets, and they've got players who are delivering it.
''[McCullum] deflects a lot of the credit to other players - and quite rightly so, with Ross and Kane and some of the other performers - but his captaincy has been excellent.''
The stylish left-hander from Christchurch is the only New Zealand batsman to score three double centuries in test cricket.
Many thought he could have batted on towards history when he declared on 274 in Sri Lanka in 2003, but he picked out another innings as the one that got away.
''I was probably too slow [in Sri Lanka]. The one I was more dirty about was in South Africa when I scored 262 [in 2006], because we were going to bat the next day to get a big score and I knew there was going to be an opportunity then.
''I got bowled by a part-timer, Ashwell Prince, so I was probably more filthy about that.
''You only get one or two opportunities from a game situation to do something that good.''
Fleming also joked that one of his early captaincy decisions, at Carisbrook in 1997, was in the back of his mind when he decided to abort his quest for history in Sri Lanka.
''I declared on Bryan Young at Carisbrook when he was on 267, so I could imagine how filthy he would have been if I had batted on.''
Fleming has spent several months in India every year since 2008, playing one season for the Chennai Super Kings before taking over the coaching reins, which has assisted CricHQ as the company looks to expand.
''It's enabled us to open doors, so driving New Zealand products into India has become not as daunting as it was before,'' he said.
''The sheer fact with me being based in Chennai for the last six years and the contacts that I've made and people I've met have helped me to understand how this product can work.
''One of the biggest challenges with India is where to start, and how to get in.''
CricHQ's strength is in the levels below international cricket, where club and school teams can essentially provide their own live scoring to parents and friends who aren't able to be at a game.
The company is also developing the social media aspect where members can update their news feed and follow international cricketers like McCullum and South African batsman Faf du Plessis.
