The curious scheduling of Australia's one-day cricket series against NZ is a case of ideal timing for Victorians Aaron Finch and Peter Handscomb.
Finch will join the Australian squad in Sydney on Wednesday ahead of the first of three matches against the Kiwis on December 4 at the SCG.
After making his Test debut in Adelaide, Handscomb is back with the Victorian team and most likely will head to Hobart for the December 5 Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.
Having the one dayers between the South Africa and Pakistan Test series again puts the spotlight on cricket's cluttered schedule.
But Finch comes into the Australian squad brimming with confidence, after a rare Shield century in the comeback win over SA.
And going back to Shield cricket works superbly for Handscomb, because it means three pink-ball games in a row for him.
He scored a half century in his Test debut against South Africa and the Hobart game is also a day-nighter.
The same format will be used for the first Test against Pakistan on December 15 at the Gabba.
Finch welcomed the one-day series, saying it was as good a time as any to play the games.
"Whenever there are six Tests in a summer, you probably have to space them out a little bit ... otherwise guys just won't get through," he said
"It's unusual for us, because you're used to the Gabba Test being the first Test of the summer.
"But it's still fantastic to have one-day cricket back again."
Handscomb also said he was not worried about the one-day series coming between the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests.
"I get a little break, I can come back, play for the Vics and chill out there," he said.
"It seems to be that way, it's a 12-month sport and you can travel the world playing it everywhere.
"So you need to be able to adapt pretty quickly and best players do that."
