Now for the proper stuff. It feels heretical to say so, but with the World Cup little more than a New Year's hangover away, this is why the Indians came to New Zealand. No more anticlimactic two-match series, no more crucial coin-tosses, no more green-eyed seaming monsters, no more souffle Indian collapses, and – this we can say for certain – no more 22 wickets in a day. In theory at least, the seven-match one-day series that starts in Auckland on Boxing Day could be a Christmas cracker. Seven games spread over 20 days would usually be overkill, but the December 31 deadline for naming a final World Cup 15 has created two series: a tasty starter followed by a beefy main course. In the first two games – the second is at Napier on December 29 – the focus will be on which of the fringe players can make a compelling case for World Cup selection. From the third match onwards, it will be all about fine-tuning, point-scoring and morale-boosting. There will be plots and subplots, and it's not often you can say that about the one-day circus.

New Zealand's selectors have a lot on their plate. Will they risk Chris Cairns before the series is out, or wrap him in cotton wool until February after keyhole surgery to his troubled right knee? Will they recall Scott Styris, who four matches ago scored 63* and took 6 for 25 against West Indies in Trinidad, but was reduced to tears on Sunday by news of his omission from the squad? Will they eventually find space for Chris Harris and Andre Adams, who are both suffering from niggles? And will they settle on Brendon McCullum, who made 9, 5 and 7 against England a year ago, or Chris Nevin, as the wicketkeeper/batsman?

India have been hit by the news that Sachin Tendulkar will miss tomorrow's game and is also in doubt for Napier. He sprained his right ankle bowling medium pace at the end of yesterday's net session, and is likely to be replaced by VVS Laxman. Sanjay Bangar also seems certain to miss out after aggravating a finger injury during the Hamilton Test. Ajit Agarkar is fit again, while sources in the Indian camp suggest Anil Kumble will play instead of Harbhajan Singh.

Kumble is one of four newcomers to the squad that lost the Test series. Javagal Srinath, Yuvraj Singh and the medium-pace allrounder Rakesh Patel are the others. They have sent home Shiv Sunder Das, Tinu Yohannan, Ajay Ratra and – to the consternation of the travelling Indian journalists – Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner. Ashish Nehra is granted a stay of execution after bowling beautifully at Hamilton. India have the experience and, despite scores of 161, 121, 99 and 154 in the Tests, they have the batsmen. Now all they need are some decent pitches.

After the Hamilton debacle, the mild-mannered John Wright came as close as decorum allowed to demanding better conditions for the one-day series. Judging by the state of the drop-in pitch at Auckland, he appears to have got his wish. There will be bounce – the groundsman, Mark Perram, was banging the ball into the pitch and taking the rebound at waist height – but the sideways movement that ruined the Test series won't be as pronounced. All the batsmen will have to worry about are Eden Park's deceptively short square boundaries. Just ask Nick Knight, who horribly misjudged a second run here in February and paid the price.

But run-scoring shouldn't be a problem, and that will favour the Indians. Not only will their strokemakers feel more at home, but New Zealand's medium-pacers will not simply be able to land the ball on a length and let nature take its course. As if to acknowledge this, the selectors are likely to name Daryl Tuffey (13 wickets at less than 9 in the Tests) as 12th man for Auckland. Kyle Mills will probably miss out at Napier.

Historically, there isn't much to choose between the sides. Overall India lead New Zealand 31-27 with three no-results, while the previous two limited-overs meetings in New Zealand – in 1993-94 and 1998-99 – finished in 2-2 draws. Expect another nail-biter, with India edging it.

Probable teams for Auckland
New Zealand 1 Nathan Astle, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Lou Vincent, 6 Brendon McCullum (wk), 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Kyle Mills, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Paul Hitchock.

India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 3 Rahul Dravid (wk), 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Javagal Srinath, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Zaheer Khan.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd