Desperate New Zealand take on indifferent Australia

Things could hardly be brighter for New Zealand as they approach the pivotal Chappell-Hadlee (or Hadlee-Chappell as some on this side of the ditch are starting to call it) one-day series.

From No. 2 in the ICC one-day rankings a year ago, they have slipped to seventh. Their captain and best batsman, Stephen Fleming, is enduring a period of convalescence at his home after having a benign tumour removed from his jaw-line recently. Two of their top order batsmen - Nathan Astle and Hamish Marshall - are in breathtakingly bad form. The two allrounders - Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram - are recovering from either inactivity or injury.

Add to the fact that they were spanked all around South Africa and are coming up against the world champions and you have the perfect recipe for New Zealand success. Yes, it seems the only time New Zealand have any chance of beating Australia is, paradoxically, when they seemingly have no chance at all.

What New Zealand has on its side is desperation. It's something Australia clearly don't have, as is evidenced by the selectors' omission of Glenn McGrath - a man whose mastery over New Zealand in home and away series last summer was so complete it extended to a swiftly compiled half-century at the Gabba Test.

While a two-year history of the trophy means it might be precipitous to judge it thus, it is a pattern of trans-Tasman rivalry that New Zealand take the clashes far more seriously. Australia don't really get too fired up until they start getting beaten. For New Zealand, matches against Australia are the be-all and end-all, for Australia the clashes are irksome more than anything. New Zealand's desperation should extend to individual performance.

Daniel Vettori will be desperate to show he has the nous to captain at international level after some revelatory leadership in taking an ordinary Northern Districts side to State Shield victory last season. Marshall will be desperate to show he's more than a one-and-a-half season wonder. Astle will be desperate to show he has runs left in his belt as the lure of the 2007 World Cup approaches. Likewise for Cairns, controversially left out of the tour to South Africa, who has a new lease of life. As he is at pains to point out though, "there's a massive gulf between what I've been playing and facing the world champions".

Shane Bond, New Zealand's fast-bowling beacon, will be desperate to show his form slump in South Africa was just a blip. He missed a day's training this week with a gastric problem, but Andrew Symonds, the Australian allrounder, was quick to label him the danger man, telling NZPA: "Normally when he does well, New Zealand does well. He's one we're going to have to nip in the bud a bit.''

There will also be a measure of desperation to say to Australia: "You were wrong not to bring McGrath." John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said that while he had no question marks over Australia's depth, the absence of McGrath had to have some effect. Mark Richardson, the former New Zealand opener, labelled it "arrogance" in his column for the Herald on Sunday, a clarion call for the headline writers at one Sydney paper who replied with, "Cocky Kiwis on the attack".

Arrogance? I doubt it. Indifference, more likely. It's now up to New Zealand to show Australia you can't just bring over any Cam (Cameron White), Mick (Lewis) and Stu (Stuart Clark), and expect to win.