I think that’s fair - I wouldn’t necessarily back us against NZ in NZ, although I feel like we are getting closer to bedding down our best XI, which is an important step. It’s hard to see our batting being the strength any time soon, but given how good our attack is, alongside Warner and Smith, we have about 6 spots locked down (all NSW players, incidentally). Paine hasn’t led well but it’s hard to see his replacement being an inferior batsman, so there’s potentially some upside at #7 whenever that transition happens. If the other four bats can average 30 when they’re not in great touch, and cash in from time to time, that might be enough to win a lot of matches if we can keep our bowlers on the park.
India will be a huge series, I didn’t realize how good a side they are. Even Ishant Sharma suddenly looks (and performs) like a world class bowler ... at one stage I thought he was a chance to be the worst player to get to 100 Tests. It’s remarkable how far they seem to have come.