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Australia and New Zealand have had a long standing rivalryThe rivalry between the two Trans-Tasmanian nations goes back to 1894 when New Zealand played New South Wales at Lancaster Park and lost by 160 runs but came back strongly a couple of years later to square it at the same venue by 142 runs.After those early encounters, exchanges between the two teams reduced as the Australians did not consider New Zealand to be good enough to play.The first official Test was finally played in the year 1946, at Basin Reserve. From then till date, the battles between the two nations have only got better, snowballing expectations whenever they are pitted against each other.When Brendon McCullum leads his side in the upcoming three-match Test series, they will look to be aggressive and the series promises to be a humdinger. Such clashes do the world good in reviving cricket, the passion and the competition between the bat and the ball.In the 21 Test series they have locked horns in Australia, the Aussies have won it 12 times whereas the Kiwis have reigned supreme on just three occasions and the rest were drawn. That stat speaks volumes of the domination Australia has enjoyed over the Kiwi’s.But this time things are bound to be different, maybe the Kiwis might draw first blood because this is an Australian team in transition. Let us now dwell on the 5 things that can be expected from this upcoming encounter.
#1 Aggressive Brendon McCullum
New Zealand has always been associated with boring cricket, but they are the complete opposite now. This New Zealand team has a lot of self-confidence and self-belief. Tough Tests cannot be compared to One-Day Internationals but still with the kind of form the players are in they could give change they have been perceived in the past.
It is always said that the attitude of the skipper is contagious and rubs off on the other players in the team and if that is the case we are in for a hot summer in Australia. McCullum will hold the key hence he has to set the ball rolling for others to follow.
#2 Oz response to transition
Australia is going through a transition, a serious one at that. Their long-standing captain and premier batsman Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers have both called it a day. This means there is a migraine at the top which spells doom.
Then, there is a change in leadership so Australian cricket is going through sensitive times. The onus will now be on Steven Smith to take over and engineer this team and take them to heights which his predecessors have set. It will hence be very interesting to see how the young pin-up boy of Australian cricket – Steve Smith – carries the flag forward.
#3 Battle of Pacers
Both the teams have the arsenal required in the Oz conditions; both have a pair that has been proven match-winners across the globe. Tim Southee and Trent Boult for the Kiwi have been in supreme form, heavily relying on swing to take wickets and on the hand there is Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc who can run through line-ups in their own backyard.
It will also be mouth-watering to see the ‘battle of left-armers versus the right-armers’. Another factor that will probably put the Kiwis in front here will be the swing; Australians do have a problem with the moving ball, the Ashes exemplified it.
#4 Kiwi batting, Oz bowling
This is how it looks, it seems prima-facie that this is the battle to watch out for. New Zealand have the fire power in their batting with names like Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum whereas Australia seem to look much more confident with their bowling machinery.
Maybe the Mitchells were not able to outclass the English seam battery as they are fast bowlers with minimal swing but back in their den they will be a force to reckon with and cannot be taken lightly.
#5 Pink balls debut
It is like a childhood fantasy coming true, we all must have wondered why not any other colour for the Test cricket ball, as red was the norm. The pink ball is finally going to make its international debut.
It has been tried in the past and with the agreement of both parties; in this case, New Zealand and Australia is finally going to debut. It will be very refreshing to see the arrival with anticipated breath.
Cricket seems to be changing and that is how it should be, change is necessary for evolution. We wish the pink ball all the very best and may you prove to be the game-changer the game needs.
