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Kiwi bowlers looking for early KO

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is one of the best batters in the world. (AFP PHOTO / MARTY MELVILLE)
Roar Pro
11th February, 2016
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New Zealand’s bowlers will be looking to land some early punches against an Australian batting line-up that has a suspect chin against swing bowling.

The toss of the coin in today’s first Test at Wellington’s Basin Reserve will be vital with both teams looking to bowl first and get an early advantage if they win the toss.

Whoever wins the battle between the Kiwi swing bowlers and Australia’s top-order batsmen will go along way to deciding the game.

If Australia do lose the toss and are sent in to bat the pressure will be on them to grind out enough runs in tough batting conditions. At the very least they will need to keep themselves in the game and give their bowlers some runs to play with.

Too often in the last Ashes series in England the batsmen didn’t make anywhere near enough runs and the Aussie bowlers where under constant pressure as a result.

Like every game Australia plays, the wicket of their dynamic opening batsman David Warner will be vital. The Aussie pocket rocket will be playing his 50th Test and loves feasting on the Kiwi bowlers with four centuries in five Test matches at an average of 93.12.

Another key batsmen for Australia will be Usman Khawaja. The classy lefthander’s batting went to another level this summer scoring plenty of runs in all forms of cricket. A big series in New Zealand will cement his spot in the team for many years to come.

The inclusion of Jackson Bird for Australia is a good one, Bird has been in good form for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield this summer and is one of the few Aussie bowlers that can consistently move the ball.

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It must be said with all the criticism surrounding the Australian selectors lately their decision to include Bird and South Australian swing bowler Chadd Sayers in the squad for this series is a big tick.

New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson will cast a big shadow over this series with the Kiwi superstar’s form in the recent series in Australia confirming him as one of the best batsmen in the world.

If Williamson and the rest of the New Zealand top order can lay the platform it could pave the way for retiring Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum to give a brutal batting encore to his adoring home fans.

A fact perhaps overlooked in the lead up to this Test series is that New Zealand cricket is going through its greatest ever era with many of its current players to be remembered as some of the country’s all-time greats.

With some lively pitches and two attacking teams this fight will not go the distance.

Prediction: Winner by KO.

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