It is highly encouraging to hear the chairman of New Zealand's selection panel Sir Richard Hadlee say that there will be no lessening of endeavour as New Zealand goes from the heights of Test combat in Australia to playing the minnows of the game Bangladesh.

The two Test series which starts in Hamilton on Tuesday next week will not be the place for any complacency as far as Hadlee is concerned.

This is not the time to lose sight of what has been achieved against the might of Australia.

Nor should it be forgotten that New Zealand has been in exactly the position Bangladesh finds itself in now.

For 25 years, after its introduction to Test status in 1929/30, New Zealand roamed the cricket world without a victory, suffering some harsh and heavy defeats.

All have been part of the structure on which the game is now built and while the cricket world has changed, the ultimate test of victory taken as often as possible is still the basic requirement by which all sides are judged.

Rain may have been a constant companion for cricketers this summer but these are the misfortunes of the game, just as they were in 1958 when John Reid's team ran into a miserably wet summer in England, and which saw them well and truly beaten.

For all its success in the last 30 years, New Zealand still hasn't recorded 50 Test victories out of 291 matches played.

It is sitting on 47, however, and it should be remembered that its last victory, against Pakistan in Hamilton by an innings and 185 runs was its biggest winning margin.

There are incentives aplenty to succeed, and succeed well, against Bangladesh.

Firstly, there is the obvious chance to cash in on the developments in Australia, personally, as a team and with the New Zealand public.

Secondly, there is the knowledge that victory over Bangladesh, and a subsequent series win over England, will lift New Zealand into third ranking among the Test playing nations, somewhere it has never been before.

And thirdly, there is the chance for individuals to benefit from a good all-round team performance by lifting their individual rankings on the world lists.

The Australian deeds have set a high and demanding standard, and that plateau should not be the end of New Zealand's climb.

© CricInfo