Now that the focus of everyone involved in New Zealand cricket is back on the field of play nobody has more reason to relish the prospect of a new season than Northern Districts captain Robbie Hart.

The retirement of Adam Parore opened the door for Hart to become TelstraClear Black Caps Test wicket-keeper, a role he filled on the winter tours of Pakistan and West Indies.

"Every first-class cricketer wants to play at Test or One-Day International level," Hart told CricInfo. He waited longer than most for his chance, first appearing for Northern Districts in 1992/93. Only a handful of current players have been in the game longer, yet Hart is not 28 until December.

Hart's wicket-keeping has been international standard for some years. But he points to a determined effort to improve his batting as the key to his elevation to the top level.

"I have put a lot of effort into working out a game plan in both the one-day and longer varieties of the game," he said. "My batting has improved out of sight over the last three or four years. That's the main reason why I am now in the Test arena."

An average of 64 for the two Tests against West Indies proved his point. What's more, the runs came at crucial stages.

In the first Test, in Barbados, Hart joined Stephen Fleming at 117 for five. They put on 108 for the sixth wicket, as the Black Caps skipper registered his fourth Test century. An unbeaten 57 was his wicket-keeper's maiden Test fifty.

"My approach was to play straight with a low risk factor," Hart explained. "The variable bounce in Barbados meant that it was especially important to concentrate on survival and to let the singles and twos look after themselves. In the Tests I got out to a pull and a sweep, which showed that the game plan to play straight was the right one," he said.

The Black Caps went on to win by 204 runs, their first Test victory in the Caribbean.

In the second Test, in Grenada, Hart shared two partnerships with Northern Districts team-mate Scott Styris - 56 for the eighth wicket in the first innings helped Styris on his way to a century on Test debut.

In the second innings they came together with the Black Caps only 160 ahead with five wickets down. An unbeaten stand of 99 ensured New Zealand's first series victory in the West Indies.

The earlier part of the winter's programme had not been such a positive experience, on or off the field.

Hart made his ODI debut in Karachi in the first of a three-match series against Pakistan. He describes a somewhat different environment from that of WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton.

"It was 43 degrees and a full-house crowd. It was the first time that I have experienced cricket where you couldn't communicate with your mates in the field. Even two metres apart you could hardly hear each other. We went off because of a stone-throwing incident at one point," he said.

The series was lost three-nil and preparations began for the two Tests. The first, in Lahore, was Hart's Test debut. It began well, with Shahid Afridi caught behind off Daryl Tuffey from the third ball of the match.

Things went downhill fast from there, with defeat by an innings and 324 runs. According to Hart, the team went on to Karachi for the second Test in a surprisingly positive frame of mind.

There was no chance to test this resolve. As the team was about to leave its hotel on the first morning of the Test a bomb exploded in the street outside. 14 people were killed.

Hart describes the events as "a terrible, terrible experience. We made sure that everyone was OK and then spent 20 minutes in the car park isolated from everybody else, wondering whether there was a second bomb and if the first one had been intended for us. It was an awfully long wait."

Some players showed the long-term effects of being so near to tragedy. "It doesn't surprise me at all that Craig [McMillan], Matt [Horne] and Brooke [Walker] withdrew from the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. The public should understand what an intense experience it was, because it was so close," said Hart.

His immediate goal is to "build up to the Test series against India before Christmas and to get my place in the team set in concrete."

The second of the two Tests is scheduled for Hart's home ground in Hamilton. "It would be fantastic to walk onto WestpacTrust Park as a Test player," he said.

The long wait for international recognition has been worth it. Having tasted the appetizer Hart intends to book in for the full five courses.

© CricInfo