Cricket: NZ will turn up the heat

James Franklin made 43 off 42 balls. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand promise more aggression tonight against Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Christchurch.

The Black Caps were completely outplayed on Friday night in Wellington, when Australia cruised past their pallid total of 118 with six wickets and four overs to spare.

It didn't help that New Zealand were 13-2 before many of the 21,000-strong crowd had settled into the Cake Tin but they seemed timid against Australia's impressive attack.

Risks have to be taken in Twenty20 and James Franklin, who top-scored with 43 off 42 balls, admitted his total and the pace at which it was scored was hardly a match-winner.

Batsman Ross Taylor has promised a more positive approach despite Australia having three bowlers who can fire the ball down in excess of 150km/h.

The New Zealand batsmen struggled against Shaun Tait (2 for 21), Dirk Nannes (2 for 22) and Mitchell Johnson (3 for 19) and will need to find a way to blunt the pace trio if they hope to share the two-game series.

"We don't want to hype them up too much," Taylor said. "We want to go out there and attack them early on.

"If we just try to conserve wickets, we are only go to get scores of 120 or 130 which is not enough against these guys. We have to play our best and when we do it against Australia it's when we take the game to them. Hopefully we can do that tonight.

"We have seen their bowlers. When you watch them on TV, it's totally different. We know their areas and what they are going to do.

"It's not a train smash. We know where we need to improve," said Taylor. "They are a confident side and they use that against teams. We have to be confident."

The Black Caps have a history of slow starts against Australia. In 2005 they scored just 105 in the first one-dayer before posting scores of 320 and 332 in the next two. It's too early to suggest Australia will have it all their own way.

The balance of the New Zealand Twenty20 side just didn't seem right on Friday night, particularly in the batting.

Australian captain Michael Clarke has said bowling wins in Twenty20 but New Zealand had only four batsmen - Australia had five although Brad Haddin could also be added - and fell well short of a competitive target.

Jacob Oram can be devastating but he strode to the crease at No 7. By that time, he had to do something special to rescue the innings. He scored one off two balls.

It is perhaps ironic that Franklin (43) and Hopkins (21) who batted at five and six were among the top scorers for New Zealand but you might expect a recognised batsman to fill at least one of those positions.

Franklin is a handy batsman who can hit the ball cleanly but he is far from prolific and is yet to score a half century in 72 ODIs.

Hopkins is an accumulator and showed his limitations when he tried to take the long handle to Australia. He hit Tait for six over third man but struggled at times to get the ball off the square.

Likewise, it seems a waste to play two wicketkeepers. Brendon McCullum has said he prefers not to 'keep in Twenty20s but is it his decision? He is the best wicketkeeper/batsman in the country and Twenty20 matches are hardly taxing. Hopkins missed a stumping and a catch.

New Zealand aren't in any position to make significant changes. Bowler Tim Southee was the only one of the 12-man squad to miss out on Friday night, although Scott Styris was with the team in Wellington.

Styris has had an excellent summer with Auckland and is in the 13-man squad for the first two of five one-dayers. Neil Broom is also in the one-day squad and either would provide more firepower in the Twenty20s.

One eye is on April's World Twenty20 tournament when New Zealand are grouped with Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. There seems to be a degree of experimentation with the side.

Surely, though, an Australian tour isn't the time to experiment. Winning is always the ideal preparation.

Meanwhile, Clarke's men are bracing themselves for another verbal barrage from New Zealand fans.

Perhaps the stronger challenge in Wellington came from the 21,364 fans who chanted all sorts of advice and comments.

It included a boisterous rendition of the "Watson's a wanker" tune - a variation on the way Australia's crowds taunted Kiwi great Richard Hadlee in the 1980s.

"The boys really got up for it last night," David Hussey told reporters at Christchurch airport.

"We were a bit shocked to begin with, copping a bit from the crowd. But we really enjoyed the atmosphere and hopefully it's the same in Christchurch."

Johnson also said the Australian players were boosted by the abuse and lifted in the big-game atmosphere in Wellington. "I think it eggs us all on."

Hussey, who hasn't played a one-day international since August 2009 but is a key to Australia's T20 World Cup campaign, says the players are driven to improve on their previous failures at T20 World Cups.

Australia are on a four-game winning streak in T20 this summer and today's game is their final hit-out until group matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies in May.

"Yeah, it is [important]. Five games in a row, any winning streak going into the World Cup is a bonus," Hussey said.

"We're finally clicking together. The last World Cup [in 2009 in England] was very, very disappointing to get knocked out in the first round. Hopefully we can right the wrongs from that.

"We're playing good consistent, aggressive cricket and hopefully that does continue. We're all about preparing for the World Cup and hopefully we can get a few plans in place tomorrow night."