The two-Test Trans-Tasman Trophy gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday with Australia the slight favourites after their improved performance in Johannesburg but New Zealand shouldn’t be underestimated.
Form
The Black Caps are coming off a narrow Test win over lowly Zimbabwe in Bulawayo where they were victorious by 34 runs.
The Aussies, on the other hand, infamously crumbled in their recent tour of South Africa, all out for 47 in the second innings of their First Test which they subsequently lost by eight wickets.
However the old Australian spirit returned in the Second Test which they won by two wickets to earn a 1-1 series result.
Prior to those most recent series, New Zealand hadn’t played a Test since January when they went down 1-0 in a two-match home series against Pakistan. More recently, the Kiwis have started their tour of Australia with some positive performances, with two plus-400 scores in the clash with Australia A in Brisbane last week.
Australia, meanwhile, won a three-Test series in Sri Lanka 1-0 in September, while prior to that their previous result was a 3-1 loss to England in the Ashes on home soil during the Australian summer.
Team news
There’s plenty of changes for the hosts with three players from the side which won in Johannesburg, expected to miss the first Test. Among them are opener Shane Watson, bowler Mitchell Johnson and Jo’burg hero Patrick Cummins, while the inclusions will be David Warner at the top of the batting order, while it’s out of James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Ben Cutting for the other two spots. The pitch may also mean the Aussies go with four quicks, putting Nathan Lyon’s spot in the team in jeopardy.
Meanwhile the Black Caps are likely to retain most of the side which looked good in the tour match against Australia A, with Daniel Vettori to replace Trent Boult in the only change. Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder all hit tons in that tour match and look in good shape, while Doug Bracewell was the pick of the bowlers.
Statistics
New Zealand haven’t won a Test in Australia in 26 years. The Black Caps have only won four of their past 28 Tests. New Zealand’s last win against Australia, in any Test, came in 1993. Australia will have at least three debutants in for the First Test. Australia have won the past four editions of the Trans-Tasman series 2-0.
Captains
Australia skipper Michael Clarke said: “I’ve been hearing it’s the start of a new era for eight months now. To me it will be no different, my captaincy will be no different to what it’s been since I’ve taken over for the Bangladesh one-day tour.
“My goal is to win every game we play no matter what form of the game it is, at times the way I captain, I like to be attacking and positive but there’s time throughout the game where you have to pull the reins in so I will do that to the best of my ability.
On his inexperienced bowling line-up, Clarke added: “That’s something we have had to think about as a selection panel as well, without Watto, we lose his bowling, so the bowlers have a big job to do.
“They all have their individual roles, and like I’ve said before I don’t expect them to do anything more than what they’ve done for their states. The key to having success in these conditions against good opposition is discipline and execution.”
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor said: “Experience-wise it is one of the weakest [Australian attacks], but they know the conditions better than we do.
“We’ve had a look at them on a flat Allan Border wicket, but I’m sure they’ll come at us hard but we’ll expect that. We’re confident, we’ve scored runs in the last two first-class games, we just need to take that confidence out onto the wicket.
On his own side, Taylor said there were a few players ready to become stars: “Doug Bracewell is a player the Australian public haven’t seen a lot of. He’s an exciting young talent who can not only bowl fast but is also a handy allrounder, and he’s only 21. I’m sure in years to come he’ll be one of the best allrounders in the world.”
Expected Line-ups for First Test
Australia; 1 David Warner, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Mitchell Starc
New Zealand; 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Jesse Ryder, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 Reece Young (wk), 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Chris Martin