KEY POINTS:
Turn up the heat on Australia by taking the pace off the ball - that's the old recipe for New Zealand sides and it will be more appropriate than ever for the Chappell-Hadlee contest which starts in Perth tomorrow night.
Daniel Vettori is very keen for Jeetan Patel to be heavily involved in this five-match series and the slower-delivery concept is a big reason why.
With Australia struggling to meet its high expectations in the international arena, and a number of new batsmen in their line-up, this theory could pay extra dividends.
The idea, especially against newer and inexperienced players, is to force them into hitting the ball through the field early in their innings, rather than allowing them to use the pace of the ball on the good Australian wickets. There is nothing worse for a new batter than getting to the wicket and finding he has to get all the pace on the ball.
Ideally, Vettori will bring himself on to bowl as soon as Ricky Ponting walks to the wicket in Perth - the ideal way for the world's best one-day bowler to get inside the Aussie captain's head.
For all his class, Ponting and everyone else knows that he struggles to play spin well early in his innings and this would be the ideal way for the Black Caps to expose his weakness for all to see, and most significantly to Ponting's teammates.
With Australia in such a shaky state, Ponting knows he must make hundreds for them to be in the chase and the additional pressure may be enough to knock him off stride. This Aussie side desperately needs his runs, even against a weakened Black Caps lineup.
There should be no excuses for this New Zealand side, although you could make a few for their initial match in Perth.
Injuries have hit them hard, with Scott Styris and Jacob Oram out for the series and Jesse Ryder sidelined for the first game.
They will really miss Ryder because of the impact he and Brendon McCullum have on the confidence of opposing attacks. That influence, in turn, helps the New Zealand batters who follow.
You can see how this works in looking at the Australians, whose once impressive middle order batter Michael Hussey is struggling.
Hussey hasn't suddenly become a bad player. The difference now is that he is no longer surrounded by rock stars, and is having to make the play himself. In the past, opponents were under pressure. Now, Hussey is under the gun and not surprisingly he is finding it a bit harder to deal with. Consequently, his former Bradmanesque numbers have come back down to earth.
As for Oram, he has had a bad run with injury and it's hard to see him rushing back with the Indian IPL Twenty20 season looming.
Oram is one of those rare players who knows his position is safe in the New Zealand team. And with 80 per cent of his earnings coming from four weeks of work in the April IPL each year, he must make sure he is fit.
