Glenn Turner made his long-awaited international comeback in this series after six years of self-imposed exile from the New Zealand team due to a financial disagreement with the NZCC.

In February, New Zealand whitewashed England 3–0 in the Rothmans Cup one-day series in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, witnessed by sell-out crowds.

Sri Lanka was then convincingly beaten in both the test and one-day series at home to cap off a memorable summer of cricket.

In a tough group with both England and Pakistan, New Zealand narrowly missed out on a semi-final place at the World Cup for the first time, after being successful in the two prior tournaments in 1975 and 1979.

Kiwi wins a memorable 1983 Melbourne Cup at Flemington in a last-to-first finish in the home straight.