**Official** New Zealand v Australia
 

A great series in prospect. Sadly, cannot see anything other than a comfotable australia win. One-dayers should be closer, as NZ showed in the chappell-hadlee trophy series.

Chairman of the brendon mccullum barmy army. Join now!

ODI's should be competitive ....but small odds no doubt on Aust for the test matches.

Will be interesting to see if Aust continue their philosophy of scoring 4+ runs an over in the tests in NZ. If they are infactuated with scoring at quick rates then they may be their own worst enemy. Its not so easy to always score at a fast rate on typical NZ slow seaming pitches.

Thats NZ's only chance of maybe sneaking a Test Match, if Aust get too over confident. unlikely though :(

Well since they basically stopped that tactic during the tour of India in 2004, I doubt they'd go back to it. They showed patience on that tour, and attacked at the right times. If they do that in NZ, something spectacular is going to have to happen to stop them.

I missed the last series in New Zealand. I'm actually quite excited at the prospect of watching a test match on a seaming wicket, they are that rare these days...

Shane Warne has already started crying on what was accepted, a bowling wicket. But NZL is having the bowling wickets on ocassions and its not the worst thing for cricket.

Tuffey among other bowlers expoits these conditions very well. It will be a huge surprise if the Aussies actually lost or couldnt win the series but considering Nzl were bashed in Australia and the Kiwis have a good bowling attack who knows how to exploit home conditions, it wont be a cake walk for the Aussies.

Bowler friendly wickets are fine.

Its when they make wickets where batting is a lottery that it becomes a bit too much.

Agree. But a once in a while a wicket such as that shouldnt be cried over just as a total spin mine field or flat track once in a while shouldnt be cried over.

I agree. And I wish international cricketers worked at acquiring the skills to plsy on such wickets.

It would be great if they did.

Batsmen are spoilt and great skills of a different type are totally lost to the game.

I am not sure where the other two venues are for the test matches but the game in Wellington won't be played on a seamer friendly track.

Tests will go to Aus, as I believe that NZ is one of the worst test sides at the moment, except for Bangla and Zimbabwe.

In ODI's, I dare say 3-2 to New Zealand. Although, that his hoping that all or bowlers' backs don't suddenly start imploding, as this seems to be a growing trend.

We havn't been beaten at home for four years, now it's your turn Aus.

If we play our best you wont beat us. I guess that sounds cocky but i don't care, it's the truth.

It depends what you mean by best because no team really ever plays to their full potential and it totally depends on how well the opposition lets you play. I mean if Chris Cairns plays his best then you would be chasing 400 every game but in reality it's not going to happen. It's not as cut and dry as saying if we play our best you wont beat us because it's unrealistic and ignores so many factors like building pressure through the middle overs which NZ did so effectively in the Chappel Haddle series

If we produce bowler friendly wickets, our bowlers may benefit, but Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and Michael Kasprowicz will cut our fragile top and middle order to pieces and then some and wait for the usual knock by number 8 and 9 to save the hides of the middle order.

But if flat wickets are produced then it will favour the batsmen all around (especially Mr Styris and Mr Hayden) and our bowlers may struggle. Catch 22 eh? Screw it lets go for bowler friendly conditions if Vettori is in doubt with his back injury.

On the other side, from what I have seen of Jeff Wilson against World XI recently surely he has done enough to be considered and Kyle Mills may get a look in as well when it comes to bowling to Hayden.

In the tests yes ,but not the odi's we are just as good as australia and we havent been beaten at home in a number of years in one day cricket