Australia are all set to don the baggie green cap as they will be locking horns with New Zealand in a three-match Test series starting on 5 November.
This Test series has already carved its name in the history books, as it features the first-ever-day-night-Test match that will be played with a pink ball at the Adelaide.
Both the sides have had long breaks after their respective tours to England. Australia succumbed to yet another Ashes series defeat in England while New Zealand were not disappointing in their tour.
Former Aussie skipper has passed on the baton of captaincy to the young and prolific Steve Smith, who has already been impressive with his style of leading this fairly young Australian brigade. During the Ashes series, Smith & co. had to bid good bye to five of their experienced campaigners from the longest format of the game. Clarke, Chris Rogers, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris and last but not the least Shane Watson. It will be interesting to see whether Australia will pass the Kiwi test in the upcoming three-match Test series.
New Zealand, on the other hand, still could not do away with the memories of the ICC World Cup 2015 final. But they will be high on confidence after the New Zealand rugby team (All Backs) defeated the Australian rugby side (The Wallabies) in the recently concluded Rugby World Cup in England and lifted the Rugby World Cup for the third time since its inception. Apparently, Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has already asked his side to avenge that defeat in the forthcoming Test series.
Thankfully, both the sides are coming into this series without any serious injury concerns apart from New Zealand's all-rounder Corey Anderson who was already sidelined. David Warner, who will be a potential threat at the top of the batting order for the Black Caps, has almost recovered from his injury for which he had to fly back to Australia during the tour of England.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum is well known for his aggressive style of leading the side and his men can overcome the sledging that is likely to come on the their way during this series.
The three Test matches will be played in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. All these three wickets are known for their pace and bounce and are likely to provide a lot of assistance to the Australian seamers like Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood. But one should not take Trent Boult and Tim Southee too lightly as these two can be also be equally dangerous in such conditions and wickets.
The players from both the sides have also been preparing for the first day-night Test match which will be played with the much-debated pink ball. The pink ball recently has also been cleared for the DRS use. The Kiwis will play a couple of tour games, one of which will be played with the pink ball so that the visitors get their much needed practice with it.
Australia vs New Zealand Test Series schedule:
Test matches: 1st Test: Australia vs New Zealand.
Date: 5-9 November.
Time: 5.30 am IST (12 am GMT, 10 am local time).
Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane.
2nd Test: Australia vs New Zealand.
Date: 13-17 November.
Time: 7:30 am IST (2:30 am GMT, 10am local time).
Venue: Western Australia Cricket Association Stadium (WACA), Perth.
3rd Test: Australia vs New Zealand.
Date: 27 November-1 December.
Time: 9 am IST (3:30 am GMT, 2 pm local time).
Venue: Adelaide.
TV listings: India: Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD 2. Australia: Fox Sports. New Zealand: Sky Sport. UK: Sky Sports. USA: Willow TV.
