'We have a big chance' - McCullum

New Zealand have arrived in Australia hoping to make the most of their chance to play an Australian side low on form and missing several key men. Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, said after a home series against West Indies that was hampered by bad weather his side was raring to go.

"We're definitely here to win. We're not here for a haircut," McCullum told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We've been looking forward to a series like this for a long time. The West Indies back home was hard to get into, it was stop-start and no real momentum, but this one the guys have had a keen eye on for a while and if we play to our potential we have a big chance."

New Zealand warm up with a match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Thursday ahead of the first ODI in Perth on Sunday. They will be taking on an Australia line-up without Andrew Symonds or Stuart Clark, who are both about to return to state action having had surgery this season, or Brett Lee and Shane Watson, who have long injury lay-offs ahead of them.

There is also no Matthew Hayden following his retirement and McCullum said while Australia's fresh-looking side did not have the same aura as previous dominant outfits, they would still pose a major challenge. "You take out the players they've lost in the last little while and that's going to happen to any side," McCullum said.

"They had some amazing players come through their team in the last 10 to 15 years and to have lost some of them you're always going to struggle to recapture some of that talent. What they've got now is an opportunity for young guys to turn into great players. They're a dangerous team if we write them off."

Like Australia, New Zealand will enter the five-match series with a youthful squad. The opener Martin Guptill made a century on his ODI debut this month and the group also features Neil Broom, who has played two one-day internationals, and two uncapped men.

"It can be a great thing, inexperience, you've not come up against Aussie before you may not have the scars of previous tours," New Zealand's captain Daniel Vettori said. "We've got eight guys with less than ten games and if they can experience some confidence and momentum at the start then that's going to make a difference to the way they play their games."

New Zealand won their series against West Indies 2-1, while Australia will aim to defend the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy coming off a series loss to South Africa. However, Vettori said Australia could not be underestimated.

"You look at the core of their team and they've got some very good players and they're playing against a very good South African team who have met the challenge of Australia," Vettori said. "I look at the way the South Africans have played and they've been very aggressive in those first 15 overs and look to try and dominate, not necessarily with orthodox tactics."