KEY POINTS:
The Black Caps have received a lukewarm reception from Australian media on arrival in Sydney.
The Daily Telegraph features a photo of the Black Caps with the headline "Even this useless lot say they can beat us".
The story describes New Zealand as "one of international cricket's worst sides" and if they win the upcoming Chappell-Hadlee one-day series, Australia will have hit rock bottom. New Zealand currently sits fourth on the ICC world one-day rankings.
The story quotes Black Caps wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum as saying: "We've got a young side, but we've also got no battle scars from previous (Australian) tours with youth in our team. Hopefully we can play as well as we possibly can and if we do that we'll put Australia under pressure, and I'll guess we'll see how they respond."
Australia have suffered a nightmare summer, losing test series to India and South Africa while also falling to the Proteas in the one-day series. If they lose Friday's dead-rubber against South Africa they will also surrender their No 1 ODI ranking.
Meanwhile, Jacob Oram has declared himself unlikely to play any part in the Chappell-Hadlee series. The selectors have expressed a desire to have Oram involved as soon as possible following a failed return against the West Indies.
Oram is battling an Achilles injury and says he has done very little training since then. He says he only started jogging around a week ago - a far cry from having to bowl in international cricket.
The big allrounder says considering his history with injury, he must take his time and ensure he has fully recovered and even if it gets to a point where he is training well he will still give it at least a week as he needs peace of mind to know he can withstand playing cricket.
The Black Caps open their tour against the Prime Minster's XI in Canberra tomorrow.
- NEWSTALK ZB, NZ HERALD STAFF
