The second and final Test between Australia and New Zealand gets under way on Thursday, and the Kiwis will be aiming to bounce back from their first Test defeat.
A glance at the Gabba result would suggest that New Zealand were soundly thrashed last time out and that the second Test could also be a miss-match.
But, while the Black Caps were definitely below par, the suspect Aussie batting line-up was, once again, found wanting, with skipper Michael Clarke rescuing the side with 139 in the first innings (Clarke 7/2 Top Aussie Batsman).
The 30-year-old was actually ‘bowled’ on 23 only to be reprieved when replays showed that paceman Doug Bracewell had overstepped the crease while delivering the ball.
Had the burly fast bowler landed the other side of the line then the hosts’ first-innings lead would have been just a handful of runs – if that – and the result may have been very different.
If the Australia batting line up is still far from a solid unit, the top five Kiwi batsmen had a match they will want to forget and coach John Wright has already alluded to the fact that they are all ‘on notice’.
New Zealand have played very little Test cricket in recent times and it showed as one-day and T20 shots have obviously crept into the players’ mindsets and their shot selection was woeful.
It was left to the ever-dependable Daniel Vettori to bail out the side and he continues to be the most important player in the team, despite seemingly having been around forever (Vettori 10/1 Top New Zealand Batsman).
Dean Brownlie scored runs in both innings and, even though he was making his Test debut at the age of 30, could still have several years left in him.
Australia’s young and inexperienced pace attack bowled well, with James Pattinson decimating the opposition line-up with 5-27 second time around in Brisbane.
He bowled with pace and skill but will find it a lot tougher in the coming months and years as not too many batsmen will gift him their wickets the way the Black Caps did.
Mitchell Starc also showed promise but has now been ruled out through injury and it is anyone’s guess as to the make-up of the Aussies’ pace attack on Thursday.
Nathan Lyon looks to have cemented his place in the Test side with seven wickets in the match and the selectors might finally settle on a spinner, after operating a revolving door policy on their slower bowlers in the past 12 months.
Clarke’s men will go into the match full of confidence and are rightly strong favourites to win, but the jury is out as to how strong they actually are.
It is unlikely that New Zealand will bat as badly again and it remains to be seen how the Australian youngsters will cope if they are put under pressure.
Wright wants his batsmen to knuckle down and play long innings and the lack of experience among the home side’s bowlers might be exposed if Ross Taylor and his fellow batsmen do manage to put together some meaningful partnerships at the Bellerive Oval this week.
The Aussies play a one-off Test against India over the festive period and would love to head into the clash with MS Dhoni’s men with a 2-0 series success under their belt, but New Zealand sportsmen are known for their fighting qualities and there might yet be a few twists and turns in the series.
Match Odds: Australia 4/6, New Zealand 7/1
