When a cricket team is out for revenge, it's usually because the last time ended in tears. But New Zealand are doing things the other way round. Because although their most recent Test series against England, in 1999, ended in a triumphant 2-1 win, something still bugs them. In the build-up to the first Test, two of their most senior players, Stephen Fleming and Chris Cairns, have spoken passionately about the way they were treated that summer, both during the series and after it.

"We still feel we don't get enough praise for that victory," said Fleming, who became the first New Zealand captain to win more than one Test in a series against England. "It was considered one of the lowest points in English cricket history, and that to me is a slur on us, because we played some pretty good cricket. To my players that is a massive motivation. We'll just have to do it again."

Cairns, who clinched victory in the decider at The Oval with 5 for 31 in the first innings and a blistering 80 from 93 balls when New Zealand were in real trouble in the second, went even further. "I thought that they treated us with quite a bit of disrespect. They were chopping and changing their side and blooding new players who didn't deserve to play Test cricket. And it backfired on them."

England fielded several players that series who may never appear in a Test match again: Aftab Habib, who made 26 runs in four innings; Chris Read, who famously ducked under Cairns's slower ball at Lord's and was bowled middle stump; and, at The Oval, Ronnie Irani, Darren Maddy and a tail of Alan Mullally, Phil Tufnell and Ed Giddins.

But after the series had been lost, interest focussed on the fact that England were now bottom of the Wisden Test rankings, rather than how well New Zealand had played. The feeling was not that New Zealand had won the series, but that England had lost it. You can see where Fleming and friends are coming from.

"We're not overly respected in England as a team," said Fleming. "And you get that feeling through playing there for a season domestically [Fleming appeared for Middlesex in 2001] and reports back, so we've got a massive point to prove. We don't buy this underdog tag that the England captain has used, we've played that card since Adam was a boy. So we know what's going on, we don't buy into it, and we're confident of winning. We'll put certain people under pressure – their captain for one." That last bit was pure Steve Waugh.

Smouldering resentments may have been rekindled by comments Nasser Hussain made at a press conference on Monday. "We should have done things a little bit better at The Oval," he said, "We should have won that Test and that series."

Now, instead of Hussain using the 1999 defeat as a rallying call to his own troops, he's having to watch as Fleming uses it to psyche up his. "We've got a pretty good core of players who remember that quite fondly, and have been looking forward to this for a long time," says Fleming. "It's nothing personal against the England players, but we're desperate to win."

When Fleming was asked whether he agreed that the two sides looked similar on paper, he retorted, "Which paper are you looking at? We think we've got a strong side. We're very happy with the balance of the side and also the experience, and we think in a Test series that counts for a lot."

And Cairns was in bullish form too, saying that all the talk about a close series was probably just a bit of New Zealand diplomacy. "I'd love to come out and say a few other things. But I think you have to be careful, especially before the first Test match. Anything can happen. And we all know about England's collapses. That'll be playing on the back of their minds. Missing Atherton and Stewart is a bummer and I think they'll miss Gough too."

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then the reaction of Fleming and Cairns has been chilling: New Zealand simply can't wait to channel more than two and a half years' worth of grievance into pummelling the Poms – again.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports here throughout the Test series.

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