Australia Vs New Zealand 1st Test ESPN 2011: Australia will take on New Zealand in the first Test of the two match series at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane in Australia on Thursday, December 1, 2011.
The hosts will start the match as favourites, but they should not be complacent, as the opposition has gained a lot of positives from the practice match against Australia A.
The Aussie skipper Michael Clarke will be confident of a good show against the Kiwi side, as he has been leading the team well recently.
Clarke took over as captain from veteran Ricky Ponting, who stepped down from the role after the defeat against India in the quarter-final of the ICC World Cup 2011.
The 30-year-old has been impressive since then, not losing a single series until now. His first assignment as captain was against Bangladesh, where he did not lose a single game. The next tour was of Sri Lanka and once again the Aussies were victorious.
However, the biggest challenge for the kangaroos was their tour of South Africa. The team managed to win the One Day International (ODI) series there, but looked vulnerable in the longest version of the game.
Australia lost the first Test by eight wickets and most critics predicted the similar result in the final match of the series.
However, the former world number one Test team bounced back strongly and levelled the series 1-1 in the end, winning the second match by two wickets.
Now, Clarke will be leading his side as a full time captain for the first time on home soil. He will definitely have the confidence of overcoming the opposition, which has not been playing competitive Test cricket for the past decade.
One thing that the Australian side will be worrying about is the number of injuries they suffered prior to the upcoming series.
Star players Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Pat Cummins were all ruled out of the first match due to injuries.
All five of them would have probably been a part of the playing eleven against New Zealand had they been fully fit.
However, this has given a chance to some of the youngsters like Mitchell Starc, Ben Cutting, James Pattinson and David Warner, who will all be eager to make their debut in the longest version of the game.
Other than these youngsters veteran Ricky Ponting will also be looking forward to playing an important role for his side in the upcoming series. He was out of touch for the past year, but seems to have regained some confidence after a solid half-century against a quality bowling attack of South Africa.
On the other hand, New Zealand had last won a Test match in Australia back in 1985. The team will be eager to turn things around when they take the field against the hosts tomorrow.
The Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor believes his side has the potential to take on the Aussies, as there is a very good blend of youth and experience.
New Zealand’s coach John Wright also rates the current Australian side as vulnerable compared to the past and expects a strong fight from his side.
However, Clarke and his men have been playing solid cricket recently and will be a tough team to beat at home.
