Aussies unveil secret weapon

Australia spent much of their first day of Test cricket preparation in more than a month looking to redress some sins of the not-so-distant past.

Back in the driver’s seat after a couple of weeks sidelined by deep vein thrombosis, coach Darren Lehmann wasted no time in addressing his team’s catching lapses that proved costly during the recent Chappell-Hadlee Series in which New Zealand triumphed 2-1.

In his exclusive blog for cricket.com.au, Lehmann confirmed that improving Australia’s all-round catching was a priority as they looked to "get the basics right" for the two-Test series that his team must win to secure the coveted crown as the world’s number one-ranked Test team.

And in addition to remedial drills for the slips cordon and outfielders, the Australians also pioneered a new piece of technology designed to alert bowlers who overstep in the nets in order to reduce the likelihood of them transgressing during a match.

On a number of occasions during recent Tests, most notably last year’s Boxing Day encounter against the West Indies when James Pattinson was twice denied a wicket, bowlers have made breakthroughs only to have the decisions reversed when video evidence confirmed a front-foot no-ball. 

WATCH: Pattinson's front foot double trouble

In the wake of Pattinson’s dual frustration, Australia’s brains trust vowed to tackle the issue at training sessions where bowlers are known to regularly overstep without being brought to account due to the absence of policing of the front line.

In keeping with that pledge, Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager of Team Performance Pat Howard trialled a prototype of a device during today’s training session at Wellington’s Basin Reserve that is designed to make bowlers more aware of where their front foot is landing. 

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Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Team Performance Pat Howard tests the new device

In conjunction with an Adelaide-based designer who was working on similar technology to assist long jumpers at training, the equipment comprises two lengths of timber that can be placed either side of the pitch and are fitted with sensors that align with the return and popping creases.

The beam that is passed between the two planks is relayed to a remote signal box stationed nearby, and which emits a loud ‘beep’ when a bowler’s foot comes down wholly beyond the front (popping) crease as well as a digital reading of how far over the line the offender has stepped.

The machine then automatically re-sets in preparation for the next delivery.

Howard said the device, which is currently deemed too heavy to be practically transported as part of the team kit but is undergoing further refinements, would prove its value if it helped reduce the incidence of no-balls in matches.

And doubly so if it showed how many times bowlers overstepped at training.

But Australia’s assiduousness in correcting recent failings will undergo its most stringent examination when it comes time for their batters to tackle New Zealand’s renowned swing-bowling attack on what appears to be a bowler-friendly pitch at the Basin Reserve. 

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Green monster // Getty Images

The thick grass cover has already prompted speculation that the skipper who wins the toss – be it Steve Smith or Brendon McCullum – when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday will seize the chance to bowl.

It was the Australian top-order’s shortcomings against the moving ball, and most notably their capitulation at Trent Bridge when sent into bat on a seaming pitch in the fourth Test, that decided the fate of the Ashes in the UK last year.

Since then, Smith and a number of his teammates have spoken repeatedly about the lessons learned from that failed campaign and how the batters – including Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns who have replaced post-Ashes retirees Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers – will better adapt to such conditions.

By not pushing hard at the ball and waiting to play strokes as late as possible – "under the eyes", as the parlance of the game would suggest.

Opener David Warner is one who knows first-hand the challenges of batting against the swinging, seaming ball at the start of an innings and is expecting those conditions to prevail during the first Test in Wellington, and the subsequent match in Christchurch.

And while he anticipates the Kookaburra-brand ball will swing more noticeably through the air then it will deviate off the pitch, he has indicated that the adaptation he plans to make will not include a marked departure from his historically aggressive mode of attack. 

WATCH: Warner scorchers fastest SCG ton

"Looking at the wicket here (at Basin Reserve) it looks nice and green, but that’s irrelevant," Warner said at the conclusion of Australia’s lengthy training session in Wellington today.

"I don’t think the ball will do much off the wicket.

"It will swing around a lot, and obviously with two world-class swing bowlers in the attack (NZ’s Tim Southee and Trent Boult) it’s going to be a challenge for us guys at the top of the order.

"The ball will swing for a lot longer than what it does in Australia.

"Look at Trent Bridge, it was swinging around there and you don't want those memories back again.

"We just have to adapt to whatever we face on game day.

"I go out there and try and adapt from ball one, (but) if the ball's in my area I'm still going to play the same way."

Australia’s top-order Test batting will remain unchanged thanks to their productive and undefeated home summer, with Warner, Burns, Khawaja, Smith, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh and Peter Nevill locked into their positions.

But the pace bowling attack is not yet settled, with doubts about Pattinson’s capacity to complete back-to-back Tests given he has only recently returned to competitive cricket due to shin soreness.

Whether he is employed or utilised for the opening Test at Wellington will be decided by Bupa Support Team medical staff in consultation with the selectors and Smith. 

WATCH: Pattinson takes five in Test return

And if it is deemed better that he is kept in reserve for the second and final match at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval then recalled seamer Jackson Bird is expected to join an attack led by Josh Hazlewood with Peter Siddle, spinner Nathan Lyon and allrounder Marsh.

As the only bowler in Australia’s squad capable of regularly pushing 145km/h or beyond, Pattinson looms as a crucial weapon as Warner confirmed today.

"Patto is one of our spearheads, he's probably one of our fastest bowlers on this trip and he really wants to take that onus upon himself," Warner said today.

"We know what he can do in these conditions - he can swing it, he can seam it and he does have the pace.

"He looked like he was bowling good line and lengths in there (the nets at Basin Reserve) and he was working on little things."

NZ’s bowling line-up also remains unsettled two days before the Test series begins, with swing specialist Southee still yet to be declared fully recovered from a foot injury and Boult returning to full health after missing last Monday’s final ODI through illness.

Off-spinner Mark Craig, who finished the three-Test series in Australia with eight wickets at 64, has regained his place in the Black Caps squad now that left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner has also succumbed to a foot injury.

But Southee believes the combination of more favourable bowling conditions than his team encountered in Australia plus the fact that none of the Australia XI has previously played Test cricket in New Zealand might lead to a different result than the 2-0 win Australia pocketed at home.

"It’s probably been a while since a side’s come to New Zealand without having any experience of playing Test cricket here," Southee said prior to Black Caps training today.

"It’s something foreign for them and I guess there is a slight edge there for us if we can make the most of it.

"Our bowlers have bowled here (at the notoriously windy Basin Reserve), whether it's domestically or internationally, a few times.

"Hopefully (the wind) stays away but it is unique to anywhere in the world.

"It can get up quite a lot and can be quite tough, not only (bowling) into it but getting your rhythm down wind."