We're almost there folks. Are you ready for sleepless nights and coffee-fueled days? Are you ready for white clothing? I bloody am, this has been a while coming and to be honest, I gave up writing about the IPL because all I could think about was Test cricket.

I've already set the scene, England are playing silly buggers but are still a good cricket side. Anyone who thinks that the Black Caps will turn out performances like they have done in Aotearoa is very naive, don't assume that because England resemble your high school cricket team where old teachers are ego tripping, reliving their glory days and generally being dickheads, that England will suck.

They might though. For mine, these are two very evenly matched teams which is why I'm frothing with anticipation. There's so many angles to this series, there's no favourite or underdog unless you're one of those kiwis who likes to live off underdog status. Nah, fuck that, we're good at this cricket thing and we're gunning for the number one spot.

Here's a few things to aid your viewing, to ponder if you're struggling to stay awake or to help you hold your own at the water cooler...

The openers, it looks like Martin Guptill has all but sealed a spot with some solid performances so far on tour. However, we're still unclear on who will join Guppy at the top and for me it doesn't really matter. I've said many times that I'd like it to be Tom Latham as I reckon he's got a long future ahead of him in Test cricket thanks to his technique and style. Would anyone say that Hamish Rutherford's style fills you with confidence to open the innings for five years?

So yeah, I'm leaning towards Latham but I'm willing to roll with whatever Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum decide. I am quietly scared that they have a love affair with Rutherford, which is fine, I'm happy to be proven wrong. While our Black Caps have been swimming through a crystal clear ocean, enjoying some success, the situation with the openers has been the boogey board tugging at their heels. And let's be honest, we're not much closer to being comfortable with that situation because we're sitting here wondering who will open and whether they'll be able to do the job consistently.

It's just an ongoing situation to keep tabs on, I'm rocking with Guppy and Latham long term.

The spanner in that situation though is Brendon McCullum. He's flirted with opening, but I think he's much better off in the middle order where he's good enough to stick out a tough period where we've had a compulsory collapse, but he's at his best when a foundation is laid and he can bat freely.

That's where the #DoYourJob mentality comes in, if the top order do their job then we have some firepower to really stick the nail in the coffin with B-Mac and Corey Anderson.

So we've got the intrigue with how he uses himself in the batting line up, but this is a big series for McCullum as skipper as well. His opposite will be Alistair Cook who is still an exceptional opening batsman but has had questions marks surrounding his captaincy for a wee while. Not only will McCullum be front and centre, right England's media (and public) spotlight as the leader of the opposition, but he'll stand there with a vastly different style to Cook's.

In essence, this is a battle of styles and it's taking place on the biggest stage in world cricket right now. Good luck B-Mac.

BJ Watling must surely be the People's Champ. If he's not the People's Champ, he's at least definitely my favourite Black Cap and someone who I thoroughly enjoy watching. In his last eight Plunket Shield games Watling only surpassed 25 twice, a 71 against Auckland and a 63 against Canterbury and things have continued to be a bit confusing in England. Against Somerset Watling scored 65 and 46 which was followed by 2 and 0 against Worcestershire most recently.

I can guarantee you that Watling will be faced with a situation where he has to hold things together for the team with the bat. It will happen and what then takes place will be very interesting, obviously I hope that he continues to forge an impressive legacy.

Having Tim Southee and Trent Boult is great, but only a fool would pin the hopes of the Black Caps on them. Especially when we have a bunch of lads from The Stable competing for the third seam spot. We all know about competition for places, it's great and while there's a spot up for grabs at the top of the order, the situation with the ball is completely different.

I don't think it's overly crucial because I imagine that the bowlers will get a bit of rotation over the next few years, but it will be interesting to see who gets the nod. I'm happy with whoever they pick out of Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry because they all have slightly unique skillsets and all offer something to the team. I have stated that I would like Bracewell to play, but that's because he's a personal favourite, what's more interesting than debating who should get the spot is how they perform.

England's batsmen will do their homework on Southee and Boult. They'll know that Boult can bowl a few in-swingers then get one to carry on with his angle and they'll know that any loosey goose action outside off-stump with result in a wicket. Which is where the third seamer comes into play because if England play it safe and show patience worthy of Test cricket, then we'll all look to the third seamer to do something. Either keep the pressure on and ride the patience train, or ruffle a few feathers and create something, that third seamer will need to be as good as Southee and Boult, if not better to give the Black Caps a sniff at two Test wins.

Can the Black Caps play consistent cricket? It's the goal of any athlete to perform consistently, to not suffer big lows and to always serve up a challenge and this applies to the overall series as well as the smaller aspects like the openers.

That's how we'll know that the Black Caps mean business in Test cricket; if they're showing up every day, every session, ever over and serving up a stern challenge. They might get beaten by a team who are far superior, James Anderson might be at his peak for two Test's, Joe Root could step into the shoes that England want him to fill, Alistair Cook might say wassup to all the haters, the Black Caps might be beaten by a more skillful team. But the hallmarks of our shitty Black Caps teams of the past have been the lapses, the collapses and allowing the game to sail off into the distance thanks to an innate ability to not show up. If standards, effort and pride is consistently shown, then we can work on the skill bits and pieces.

Lastly we have Mark Craig who has been selected as the spinner for the Black Caps and will be crucial to the fortunes of the side. Craig doesn't offer much that the English batsmen haven't seen before, he's your typical offie who enjoys crafty flight, changes of pace and bounce. England have batsmen who have been around for yonks and have seen many an off-spinner in international cricket and County cricket, which makes this a huge series for Craig.

He's done well so far, but that's come in spin-friendly conditions and at home. While England is quite similar to Aotearoa, it's an unknown for Craig and an impressive showing could seal the deal for the mid to long term. If he's unable to take wickets, then we might have an issue.