Combatants prepare for McCullum's final Test

Steve Smith discusses the make-up of the Australian team ahead of the second Test Posted by Australian Cricket Team on Thursday, February 18, 2016

James Pattinson has been confirmed as Peter Siddle's replacement for the second Trans-Tasman Test, beginning in Christchurch on Saturday.

In his captain's press conference ahead of the final match of the series, which Australia lead 1-0, Steve Smith said Pattinson would return to the XI as Australia look to clean sweep their trans-Tasman rivals and in doing so, return to the summit of the ICC Test Championship.

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"'Patto' obviously wasn't right that first Test match, and he's been working hard since," Smith said. "He's bowled a lot in the nets and we're all confident he'll get through this next Test match and hopefully he can have a big impact for us.

"I think he had three or four sessions and bowled with good pace. Hopefully he can do some of the same this week and it looks like the conditions are going to suit him nicely."

Smith said the introduction of Pattinson - more renowned for his aggression than for the sort of unerring consistency upon which Siddle has built his reputation - would have little impact on what's expected from his fast-bowling cohorts, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird.

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"I think Josh can bowl the same way he's been bowling, he's been really impressive for quite a while now," the skipper said. "If he continues to bowl the way he is at the moment he's going to take a lot of wickets.

"With Jackson Bird, for him it's just about keeping it simple and doing what he does well. I guess it's pretty similar to 'Sidds' (Siddle) in a way, in hitting a good area and let the ball try and do something off a good length, building pressure.

"I think that's understandable (that Bird took some time to find his rhythm), it was his first game back for a little while, he was a little bit nervous. I think he did get better as the game went on.

"I'm sure he'll come out all guns blazing and if he does get the ball in the right areas he'll get a lot of assistance out of that wicket.

"It's quite green and wet at present. I'm not sure how it goes here whether it dries out quite quickly or not, we'll wait and see in the morning. But at the moment it's quite green and wet."

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Despite ongoing shin soreness that led him to miss several weeks of cricket immediately after the rained-out New Year Test against the West Indies, Pattinson said yesterday he feels he is as ready to return as at any stage of his frustratingly staccato Test tenure.

"I got through a fair bit, I think I bowled close to 35 overs last week in the nets," he said prior to Australia’s main pre-Test training session in Christchurch when asked if he had sufficient recent bowling under his belt to make it through a crucial five-day game.

"So I'm full of confidence now, knowing I can get through this game, and it was pleasing because in the nets I probably bowled the best I have over the last six months.

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"I'm starting to feel really good with my action, and physically I felt really good too.

"I probably wasn't really happy with where I was releasing the ball from (earlier in the summer).

"I was probably a bit lower than I have been in the past, so it was about getting nice and tall again and releasing the ball from that high position - more from where I started, when I did come on the (Test) scene.

"Now it's feeling really comfortable. I'm swinging the ball late, which is good, and getting back to some good pace as well."

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Smith compared the wicket to the one used for the first Test in Wellington, upon which the Black Caps were bowled out for 183 on day one as Australia's quicks utilised helpful conditions.

That wicket flattened out thereafter, allowing the tourists to make 562 and effectively bat New Zealand out of the contest.

"It looks pretty similar to the last wicket the day before the game," Smith said. "It's quite hard to tell how it's going to play until the morning of the game, until they've given it a roll and you see it for the last time (before the coin toss).

"So I'm not really buying too much into the way it is now. I guess it's about waiting to tomorrow and seeing how it looks then.

"I don't think (the pitch is) a concern. For me it's about making sure our batters adapt to the conditions. We know what we're likely to face, we knew that before we came over here.

"For us it's about making sure we sum up the conditions quickly, to be able to get through those tough periods. Things obviously get a lot easier when you're out there for longer. Getting through those initial periods are really important for our batters. Usman Khawaja and (Adam) Voges did that really well last Test, hopefully some of our others can do that this game.

"I don't think the wicket played as bad as it probably looked last Test. It moved just enough for those nicks. It was nice to be on the right side of one of those days where there wasn't too many play and misses, just nicks and we catch everything.

"If we batted first, it would have been simple to get through those initial periods. When the ball got older it certainly got a lot easier to score and survive as well."

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Australia will leapfrog India and return to the No.1 position if they're successful in this Test against New Zealand - a carrot that Smith insists is a sizeable one for his squad.

"We want to be No.1 in the world in every format," he said. "If we win this week we will be No.1 in two (formats - Test and ODIs). We want to win away from home as well, that's massive on my agenda. We played really well in the first Test to adapt and it's going to be important to do that a lot.

"For me, it's satisfying to get that ranking, that would be really good for us as a group. When you're No.1 , you want to stretch that as a group. That's really important for us."

The Black Caps, who will be roused not so much by their opportunity to deny Australia the top Test ranking as their will to farewell skipper Brendon McCullum from international cricket as a winner, are also compelled to make at least one change.

Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner is tipped to replace injured pace bowler Doug Bracewell in the starting XI, although the decidedly faster Matt Henry might come into calculations if the wicket is as green as Hesson has requested given Henry boasts some impressive form on the newly-laid Hagley track.

Australia XI: David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.