Hazlewood risked despite heavy load

Australia will risk the fitness of Josh Hazlewood rather than recalling Peter Siddle in a calculated gamble to seal the Trans-Tasman series at the WACA Ground, before it reaches the experimental day/night match to follow in Adelaide.

The captain Steven Smith conceded on match eve that Hazlewood's bowling workload had been high enough for the selectors to consider withdrawing him from a Perth Test set to be played in typically scorching temperatures. That move would have reduced Hazlewood's chances of injury and also allowed Siddle to bowl on a venue where he has enjoyed considerable success.

However it has been decided instead to keep Hazlewood in the team following his useful contribution to the opening victory at the Gabba, a decision made in large part due to his strong record when playing ODIs for Australia at the ground. While yet to play a Test in Perth, Hazlewood's record of 10 wickets at 11.9 in four limited-overs matches played a large part in swaying the selector on duty Rod Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann.

"It was talked about," Smith said. "Josh's loads are quite high at the moment - he's bowled quite a lot over the past month or two - so it was definitely spoken about. But we think he's going to do a great job out here in Perth. He bowled really well last time he was here, against the South Africans in the one-dayers, so hopefully he can do a good job for us out here this Test match.

"We'll see how we're going [after that]. There's a reasonable gap between this Test and the next one. Obviously a six-Test summer as well so there's a lot of cricket. We'll wait and see how he pulls up after this Test match. [Siddle] was talked about. He's bowling really well at the moment. But we won the last Test match with this line-up, and we're going in with the same one."

Hazlewood's height is expected to make him a major threat to New Zealand's top order, who must adjust once more to a fast and bouncy pitch after Brisbane gave them some impression of what the WACA would be like. Smith agreed it was to Australia's considerable advantage that no member of the New Zealand side has played a Test in Perth - the last meeting between these two countries in the West was as far back as 2001.

"I guess that probably helps us a little bit, I think it's a place that takes a little bit of getting used to," Smith said. "I think as a batsman it takes a little bit longer to get in. I guess probably at a lot of grounds around the world it's 20 or 30 balls to get in, I reckon here it's probably more 40 or 50 to feel like you're in. Once you get in it's one of the best places in the world to bat. It's nice to know that some of their players haven't played here and we've got a lot of experience here."

While understandably happy with the way the Australian top order batting functioned at the Gabba, Smith has addressed his team on two areas that he felt were not up to standard last week. These were the home side's catching, which gave up four chances across the two New Zealand innings, and also bowling that was lacking in consistency at times, particularly against the excellent Kane Williamson.

"We set ourselves really high standards in the field and we let ourselves down a little bit in that department," Smith said. "So that's something we're going to be working on. This is one of the best places in the world to field in the slips - you get a lot of time to see the ball because you're generally quite deep, so hopefully we can hold our catches this match.

"And with our bowling, I've sort of addressed that - our lengths were a little bit too short with the new ball in Brisbane. The guys found it quite hard from both ends because the wickets was a bit more raised than it normally is, so guys were finding it hard to find their rhythm. I don't think they'll have that problem out here so hopefully they can get their lengths right from ball one."

Australia have chosen to rest their players following this match rather than offering them additional practice against the pink ball to be used in Adelaide. By contrast, New Zealand's squad will take part in a day/night warm-up fixture at the WACA against a WA Invitational XI to prepare them for the third Test. Smith and Australia are hoping it will not be billed as the series decider.