Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene admits to being a Twenty20 novice but he is looking forward a rare taste of the game in New Zealand. 
The BLACKCAPS follow their National Bank Test double header with a pair of short-format games against Jayawardene’s tourists in Wellington and Auckland.
Speaking at his first press conference since arriving in the country, he said: “I’ve hardly any experience - Over the last few years, I’ve only played a few times back home.
“I played my first international against England and its quite exciting. As a player, it’s something new - that’s something we always have to get used to.
“We can have a bit of fun and its something cricketers can have a bit of fun with.
“It’s a short version of the one day game and its something where you can try new things and see if they come off.
“It’s very quick and you have to make decisions very quickly. The one international game we played we enjoyed it.”
Jayawardene is in impressive form in Test matches and despite the World Cup on the horizon, he is determined to seal a Sri Lanka series win.
The 29-year-old averages almost 63 in 2006, a year which has been stellar for the diminutive all-rounder.
He led his team to a 5-0 one-day series defeat of England, before posting a national record 374 against South Africa in Colombo, as part of a record 624 third-wicket stand with Kumar Sangakkara.
And he wants to complete an impressive 12 months against a BLACKCAPS side he rates highly.
“The New Zealand attack is very unique, with a couple of all-rounders,” he said. “ has been bowling very well for the three or four years, consistently.
“ is back, that’s good, it’s what we’ve been looking forward to. He’s been a great competitor over the years and he’s coming back from injury.
“We faced him in India, for a short spell in the one-dayer, but test cricket’s going to be different.
“The two test matches are very important for us, to get a good start, because the World Cup in the West Indies is round the corner and we can take some momentum.”
Sri Lanka begin their tour against State Otago Volts in a four-day game beginning November 30.
The National Bank Series -
