“Well, I mean, the reality was Henry was our back-up batter in the Test squad,” Walter said after arriving in Auckland following series wins in the West Indies and England. “At the time of his selection in the squad as a back-up batter… whilst there may have been somebody to ask questions, I don’t think anyone could ask the questions based on the performances that Henry had put in when he’d gone back to domestic cricket. Ultimately, it’s a lesson for anyone that there’s always going to be these disappointments of being left out of the team. But all you can do is just go back, work hard, put some runs on the board, put performances on the board, win games for your team.

“Then hopefully, things play their part and you end up getting another chance. And again, I think Henry wouldn’t have wanted to get his opportunity through Kane’s retirement because that was in itself a loss for the team. However, he’s still a highly experienced guy with lots of performance under the belt, and could come in on the back of strong performances domestically, earning his spot back and taking that No. 3 spot. So certainly I won’t be giving that No. 3 to anyone else because he’s deserved it.”

When asked if Nicholls had felt that his international days were behind him around the time he was dropped from the Test team, the 34-year-old was a bit philosophical.

“I’m not sure. The focus for me when I got left out was to go back and keep enjoying my cricket,” Nicholls said. “I sort of had the perspective: ‘if you come back that would be great’.

“Even if I wasn’t, I would have still been content with it. [I’m] very pleased to be back and [it was] a fun series, albeit it feels like a little bit ago. The reception that we had today [in Auckland], I know how important it was for everyone back here.”

Nicholls and the rest of the New Zealand players will either take a break during the winter or feature in franchise T20 leagues before they come together for an all-format visit by India from October-November.