Australia are set to encounter a different type of surface to those they've played on at home this summer in the first Test against New Zealand
All eyes on Basin Reserve pitch
Given the Australian batsmen’s struggles against the moving ball in last year’s Ashes, some of them may have been nervous when they initially saw the grassy Basin Reserve pitch ahead of tomorrow’s first Test against New Zealand.
Captains have won the toss and elected to bowl in eight of the last 10 Test matches at the Wellington ground, which suggests that the pitch may resemble something like what Australia came across in the United Kingdom.
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Brendon McCullum, who has announced that he will retire from Test cricket after this series, said yesterday that he believes both captains will be looking to bowl first if they win the toss.
But if Steve Smith thought the Basin Reserve pitch was reminiscent of wickets he saw at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, the sites of dramatic Australian batting collapses last year, he didn’t say it.
"There is a bit of grass on it at this stage,” he said today. “I'll wait and see until tomorrow, see if there's anything different with it there.
"I think traditionally the wickets here don't play quite as bad as they look. So I'll wait and see how it's going tomorrow.”
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Indeed, the past two Test matches at the north island ground have seen five centuries, two double-centuries, not to mention McCullum’s marathon second-innings triple-ton against India in 2014.
Opener David Warner, who will get the first look at how the wicket plays if Australia bat first, also didn’t expect there to be too many demons in the pitch.
"It looks nice and green but that's irrelevant. I don't think the ball will do much off the wicket," Warner predicted.
"The swing is the factor."
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Whether it swings or seams in Wellington tomorrow, the team batting first may have their work cut out for them if recent history is anything to go by.
The Black Caps were bowled out for 221 last year against Sri Lanka and for 192 against India in 2014 after losing the toss and being put in to bat in both matches.
But they fought back in both of those games, defeating Sri Lanka and drawing with India despite squandering significant first innings’ leads, which suggests the pitch generally improves as the match wares on.