“Nowadays it is easier to point to the WTC to motivate. Not that you need any extra motivation for a Test match, but it does have a lot of context this week,” Cummins said.

“Two-match series now, each Test match has a lot of points riding on it to make that final. So it’s something we’ll talk about ahead of tomorrow. There’s always a million sub-stories in each Test match, everyone wants to perform well. So a lot to play for.”

Those “million sub-stories” include those of Mitchell Starc, on the cusp of Dennis Lillee’s 355 Test wickets, but also the recently struggling Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Alex Carey.

There is no appetite to drop any one of those three – Carey’s silken glove work to Nathan Lyon has counterbalanced most concerns about his batting – but Cummins stressed that he wanted to see the top seven function better than they had at times over recent months, not least during a hectic second innings as the Basin Reserve.

“The non-negotiable whatever you’re doing when you’re batting is you’ve got to be putting pressure on the opposition,” he said. “So you don’t want them to shut up shop but you also don’t want our batters to be totally reckless as well.

“So it’s just decision-making around plans, having really clear plans. It doesn’t mean you need to have 12 shot options, it might only be two or three, but building your innings around that.”

New Zealand will have two Test centurions on Friday, captain Tim Southee and his predecessor Kane Williamson.

There has been local noises around Neil Wagner’s negotiated retirement and some pointed comments by the former skipper Ross Taylor. But the fact that Southee made his debut in 2008 and Williamson in 2010 underlines how these centuries are more special than most because New Zealand play so much less Test cricket than Australia. Since Southee’s first, the Black Caps have played 132 Tests versus Australia’s 172.

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“If you look at the amount of people from New Zealand who’ve played 100 Test matches, England and Australia play a lot more Test matches, so for us, it has taken a while,” Southee said.

“It’s taken almost 16 years to reach there, and I guess for both of us to do it, playing all three formats as well for the majority of that time. So a special time to do it with a special player as well.”

Young speedster Ben Sears will debut for the hosts, and Southee was frank in his doubts that many more New Zealand cricketers will play 100 Tests.

“Just the amount that we play, probably tough to do, they’ll have to play for a long period of time,” he said. “We always want to play more Test cricket, and hopefully in the future we’re able to play more.”

For the next nine months, Australia’s Test players will have plenty of time to ruminate on a crowded passage of matches. All will look rosier with a valedictory win here.

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