Australia vs. New Zealand, 1st Test: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
New Zealand will play their first Test on Australian soil since 2011 when the two trans-Tasman rivals meet in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday.
The Black Caps currently sit in sixth place in the ICC Test rankings, though they are only seven points behind their second-placed hosts.
Australia, meanwhile, will be playing their first Test under the full-time stewardship of Steve Smith. He takes over the job from Michael Clarke, who retired at the end of this year's Ashes in England.
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The teams will create history when they finish the series with the first day-night Test, as the third and final match to be staged under the floodlights at the Adelaide Oval.
Before then, though, they will go head-to-head at the Gabba, a venue where the Australians haven't been beaten in the longest format since 1988.
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2015
Time: 10 a.m. local (12 a.m. GMT, 9 p.m. Wednesday ET)
Venue: Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, Australia
Live Stream and TV Info: Channel Nine (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Sky Sports (UK), Super Sport (South Africa), Willow TV (USA—subscription required)
Overview
From abandoned matches to testing out pink balls, it has been an eventful start to New Zealand's tour.
The Kiwis have not had quite as much match practice as initially planned heading into the Tests, considering their three-day fixture against Cricket Australia XI was called off on Day 2.
Concerns over the state of the pitch at Blacktown Oval in Sydney led to visiting skipper Brendon McCullum declaring twice before any of his batsmen had faced a ball.
The CA XI had already amassed 503 for one on the same surface, but the tourists were concerned by "a pair of deliveries that reared off a length late on day one when they took the second new ball," per Daniel Brettig of ESPN Cricinfo.
The abandonment means McCullum has had just one knock before facing Australia's bowling attack.
Following his late arrival on tour, the batsman sat out the one-day game against a Prime Minister's XI on October 23. He did make a breezy 58 against a Cricket Australia XI in Canberra before retiring.
However, McCullum's form has not been the talking point heading into the series. Instead, the focus of attention in the media prior to the game has centered on his comments in a column for the Daily Mail.
He wrote in September how opposite number Smith had "shown immaturity" by not withdrawing an appeal against England's Ben Stokes during a one-day match. Stokes had deflected the ball away with his hand as he took evasive action following a throw at the stumps by bowler Mitchell Starc.
David Warner—Australia's new vice-captain—hit back at McCullum, per Brydon Coverdale of ESPN Cricinfo: "In my opinion it was something that was quite poor and immature on his [McCullum's] behalf to make the comment about Steve."
The tit-for-tat name-calling has only heightened the tension ahead of a showdown between two nations who boast a brilliant battery of fast bowlers.
New Zealand may be without the injured Corey Anderson, who has been ruled out of the series with a back injury, but they still have the potent new-ball pairing of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
Doug Bracewell is also in the squad—the seamer claimed nine wickets to help New Zealand triumph in Hobart on the last Test tour of Australia four years ago.
As for the home team, the Mitchells—Starc and Johnson—are certain starters.
Josh Hazlewood was the third paceman in four of the five Ashes Tests against England. However, he was dropped in favour of Peter Siddle for the series finale, with the replacement taking six wickets in an innings victory at the Oval in London.
But despite Siddle's fine effort at the Oval, Hazlewood has been confirmed as the third seamer—with Nathan Lyon the spin option.
"Here's the Aussie XI to take on the @BLACKCAPS in the first #AUSvNZ Test starting tomorrow! https://t.co/SgKDntAdGS pic.twitter.com/0SLEKdAZsf
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 4, 2015"
The retirements of Clarke and opener Chris Rogers, plus Smith's decision to drop down to four in the batting order, means Australia will have a new-look top three.
Joe Burns is set to open alongside Warner, while Usman Khawaja will come in at the fall of the first wicket. Adam Voges will bat at five, followed by all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
New Zealand will hope they can expose a few cracks in the Australian order as they look to improve on a miserable record at the Gabba.
They have won just once there in nine Tests, with their solitary victory coming in 1985. In that match, Sir Richard Hadlee claimed 15 wickets and Martin Crowe cracked 188.
Key players
Australia
Mitchell Johnson had an indifferent Ashes series in England, finishing with 15 wickets at an average of 34.93.
However, the left-arm paceman seems to love bowling in Brisbane. He has taken 30 wickets in six Tests at the ground, including nine in a match against New Zealand in 2008.
Refreshed after a break, the 34-year-old has apparently looked sharp in domestic action.
State and Test colleague Mitchell Marsh has certainly been impressed by Johnson at the start of the summer, per Andrew Wu of the Sydney Morning Herald: "He's looking really good. In our schedule to get six weeks off and for him to get in the gym and recharge the batteries, hopefully he'll put it out there on Thursday."
New Zealand
Brendon McCullum may be the spark that ignites New Zealand's batting lineup, but Kane Williamson provides the backbone for big totals.
The right-hander currently owns a Test average of 95.20 in 2015, helped by him hitting a career-best 242 not out against Sri Lanka in January.
However, Williamson will be eager to improve on his numbers against Australia—he has made only 72 runs in his previous two Test appearances against them, both coming back in 2011.
Per David Leggat of the New Zealand Herald, Mitchell Starc has targeted Williamson as the key wicket: "He can bat for a long time and has probably scored a lot of their runs in the last little bit."
Squads
Australia
Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle.
New Zealand
Brendon McCullum (captain), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, James Neesham, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Luke Ronchi (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
All stats used in the preview were from ESPN Cricinfo.
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