Australia Confident as Lively Pitch Beckons

Hobart: Australian captain Michael Clarke said on Thursday he could be tempted to bowl first if he wins the toss on a Bellerive greentop in the second Test against New Zealand.

The bowler-friendly pitch threatens to make life difficult for the team batting first in Hobart and Clarke said he may be forced to go against his natural instincts and bowl should the coin toss go his way.

Australia lead the two-Test series after a thumping nine-wicket victory at the Gabba in Brisbane last weekend and Clarke has named an unchanged eleven.

Clarke, who has only won the toss once in his seven Tests as captain, said overhead conditions on the morning of the match would help him decide whether to bat or bowl.

Clarke was surprised to discover a bowler-friendly strip. Clarke has named an unchanged team and said he had confidence in his four frontline bowlers to get the wickets.

The skipper said good bowling with the new ball would be rewarded.

No-one can question Phillip Hughes' appetite for runs, but he is so often out fencing at deliveries going across him before there is time to complete the entrée. On a Hobart surface that was still verdant green on match eve, it is guaranteed that Martin's right-arm seam and swing will again pose the questions that Hughes was unable to answer in Brisbane.

On otherhand, Ross Taylor reasoned there would be changes to his team if there is not strong improvement on an ailing performance in Brisbane. Based on the pair of shots he played to be out to Pattinson in both innings, Taylor should not be immune from scrutiny himself. A tremendous shot-making talent, his looseness was not the example to set for a young team, particularly behind a No. 3 in Kane Williamson who looked out of his depth on a surface offering bounce.

In the field Taylor made some decent bowling changes but dropped a catch. The improvement of the team's Test match fortunes is going to have to start with the captain.

New Zealand appear likely to give another chance to the XI that struggled for traction in Brisbane, reasoning that the players entered the first Test in good enough touch and must better organise their mental approach to Test cricket and Australia.

Team from

Australia MJ Clarke (captain), BJ Haddin (wk), DT Christian, PJ Hughes, MEK Hussey, UT Khawaja, NM Lyon, JL Pattinson, RT Ponting, PM Siddle, MA Starc, DA Warner

New Zealand LRPL Taylor (captain), BJ Arnel, TA Boult, DAJ Bracewell, DG Brownlie, MJ Guptill, BB McCullum (wk), CS Martin, JD Ryder, TG Southee, DL Vettori, BJ Watling, KS Williamson, RA Young (wk).

Pitch and conditions
Hobart surfaces tend to alternate between very flat and very lively, and the sight of a strip of similar colour and grass coverage to the outfield suggests the second Test pitch will fall into the latter category. The pace and bounce will not be on quite the same level as Brisbane's, while a colder climate may prevent a repeat of the sharp swing gained by Pattinson on day four at the Gabba.

Stats & trivia

• Australia's unchanged team is their first since taking the same XI that won the third Ashes Test in Perth last summer into the fourth Test in Melbourne. An innings defeat and the loss of the urn eventuated.
• Ricky Ponting returns to the scene of his previous Test century, 209 against Pakistan in January 2010. He is without a hundred in 29 innings since.
• Chris Martin's second-innings duck gave him the most in Tests between Australia and New Zealand, eight to surpass Danny Morrison's seven.
• Though Australia have never lost a Test in Hobart, New Zealand have managed to scrape draws from two of the three Tests they have played at the ground - the other an innings defeat in 1993.

Match facts
December 9-13, 2011
Start time 1030 local (2330 GMT pre day)