Scott Kuggeleijn's selection for the first Test against Australia has brought an unspoken and uncomfortable episode in Kiwi cricket back to the fore.
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Tim Southee overlooked Mitch Santner for the trans-Tasman Test at the Basin Reserve starting on Thursday, giving a second cap to two pace bowlers instead.
One was Will O'Rourke, a 22-year-old English-born right-armer who was offered the chance to follow-up his impressive debut earlier this month against South Africa.
O'Rourke took nine wickets in Hamilton and was named player of the match for his second innings 5-34, as New Zealand locked up a seven-wicket win.
The other was Kuggeleijn, who at 32 offers little for the future of the Kiwi attack but resurfaced an ugly episode in New Zealand cricket's not-too-recent past.
In 2017, Kuggeleijn was acquitted by a jury on a charge of raping a 20-year-old Waikato University student.
An earlier trial produced a hung jury.
Elements of his trial shocked New Zealanders.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) opted against any sanction, awarding him an international debut within months of the verdict, and not offering public comment on the issue.
Kuggeleijn has never addressed the case publicly.
Veteran journalist Dylan Cleaver, a former NZ Herald sports editor who founded The Bounce, said the episode prompted opinion "across the spectrum".
"From those who believe that his not guilty verdict should have been the end of the matter, to those who feel some of the testimony at trial was troubling enough for him to never again be considered for national selection," Cleaver told AAP.
"Even for many who sit somewhere in the middle, Kuggeleijn's failure to address the matter publicly and what appeared to be a lack of understanding or acknowledgment on NZC's part as to why his behaviour was problematic, even if it didn't result in a conviction, has left a bad taste.
"The very fact that it is still being raised as a topic and written about six years later is ample evidence it still rankles with many."
Perhaps that's why, when Kuggeleijn was brought onto bowl in the opening morning's session on Thursday, the Basin Reserve crowd offered him a muted response, in contrast to warm applause for O'Rourke.
In 2019 when Kuggeleijn played for the Black Caps at home for the first time, and some fans responded by booing him, or holding up "MeToo" signs attacking NZC.
A search of Kuggeleijn's name on social media suggests many still fume at Kuggeleijn and NZC.
Kuggeleijn took the first wicket after lunch on Thursday, dismissing Marcus Labuschagne for one.
He later claimed the wicket of 'keeper Alex Carey for 10.
Australian Associated Press
