It's not often that choosing New Zealand teams has been as predictable as that for tomorrow's first Test with Australia at Brisbane.

The tour selectors have chosen the following playing XI: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Matthew Bell, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Dion Nash, Shayne O'Connor, Adam Parore, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair and Daniel Vettori.

But, in reality, from the moment the touring side was named this was always going to be the preferred 11 for the Test.

It was going to take a severe slump in form for someone in the middle order to allow Lou Vincent into the playing XI, and it was only going to be injury that prevented the first-string bowling line-up taking the field.

Sadly, the concerns over possible repercussions among those returning from injury means the side is not firing on all cylinders yet, but for those who look back on 13 months of injury frustrations it is the most comforting look to a New Zealand side in that time.

Notwithstanding the level of competition the New Zealanders face, one of the greatest teams in cricket history, there is still plenty for the Kiwi side to play for.

There is their own self-respect. The Australians could take joint ownership with All Black coaches Laurie Mains and John Hart for talking up the quality of the opposition.

Captain Steve Waugh has been acknowledging his respect for rival captain Fleming while Shane Warne has been preparing his victims by talking about all their positive qualities while no doubt flicking through his own log book of memories to utilise the negative features of the batsmen he will be facing in this series.

It is a fascinating concept for the New Zealanders to deal with - they're not used to this sort of respect from the Australians, so that alone should be enough to make them wary.

In all reality, Fleming and his men are probably praying that their Achilles heel in this and most other Test matches of the last decade, the opening partnership, can find some of the consistency they enjoyed at home last summer against Pakistan.

Good starts are an absolute must against Australia and Richardson and Bell face the toughest task of all in the side in attempting to deal with the skills and aggression of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, not to forget Brett Lee.

If Richardson, an acknowledged big game player, gets a start there could well be some fireworks, and if form in the early stages of the tour suggest it is likely to be later rather than sooner in the series, fireworks there will surely be at some stage in the three Tests.

Bell is a different concern. He has been such a hesitant starter and with his shuffling style, his pads are going to be a magnet for the Australian quicks.

There is pressure too, on Sinclair to up his performances against the Australians. He knows, like all batsmen from 3-6 that Vincent is lurking just waiting a chance and they know he is good enough to make the most of it, that he cannot afford to dally in this series and it will be interesting to see how the immensely committed Sinclair reacts.

Will this be the series where skipper Fleming finally does justice to his batting talents? His trip to England was expected to give him the chance to work on his faults and he has pronounced himself happy with what he achieved.

Now it is a case of turning that into runs, and plenty of them, on the international stage.

Astle and McMillan experienced the Australians in full cry for the first time on their last tour and will be better equipped. They need to score regular big totals if New Zealand is to be in any way or shape competitive in this series.

Then there is Cairns. The Australians know he is the key man in this side, with both bat and ball. They will be keen to get the wood on him as early as possible, just as keen as he will be to make an impression on them. It won't be worth having 40 winks while he is at the crease.

Parore got under Aussie skins well before the series started and is of such a nature that he will be looking to make the itch even more uncomfortable. He could do with some big scores to go alongside his 'keeping deeds of recent times.

So much has happened to Vettori's hopes of playing in this series in the last two weeks that he will probably need to pinch himself good and hard when he finally walks onto the Gabba. But it won't be long before he is involved in pinning down batsmen with his left-arm class material.

The interest in his ankle injury has tended to gloss over the fact that this still remains his return from a stress fracture in his back and the real test for him is coming through the work load that is bound to be required of him.

Nash is in a similar boat. But just how well he supports Cairns could well determine just how far New Zealand can push this match. At his most competitive, it would go until the last session of the fifth day.

Completing the comeback class of 2001 is O'Connor. He is a much better bowler than the fresh-faced youngster of four years ago, and it will be interesting to see how much his increased pace, and ability to swing the ball, can back up the efforts of Cairns and Nash.

It is New Zealand's most daunting overseas assignment for some years. With everyone back on board good results are expected. The challenge is ahead of the tourists. But the question remains: Do they really feature on the Australian warning radar or are the world champions genuinely respectful of Fleming's men?

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