New Zealand face test of resolve after Gabba setback

Australia's players may not want to hear this, but this summer is in dire need of a strong performance from New Zealand at the WACA Ground. If Brisbane was a rousing occasion for several new-ish members of the Australian team, few others felt that glow, and with the West Indies in a state of longstanding disrepair, there is not much to look forward to.

So it is that Brendon McCullum's men are carrying the hopes of a few more than simply themselves and their countrymen this week. They were beaten out of sight at the Gabba, and Steven Smith was quick to point out that Australia's momentum would be a valuable commodity in their efforts to end the series quickly. But it is also true that another week's acclimatisation will help, particularly after the visitors' preparation was hurt by the Blacktown abandonment.

The question for New Zealand is whether they are a resilient enough unit to put the mental scars of Brisbane to one side and use the knowledge and mileage gained to perform to a higher level in Perth. Their recent touring history - drawn series against Pakistan and England after going 1-0 down in each - suggests it is possible. There is also a resolve within the team to show those watching that they are better than what was seen at the Gabba.

"The margin was fair. I don't think its' necessarily an accurate reflection of the gulf between the two teams. We weren't at our best in Brisbane, hands down we were outplayed by a team which was far better than we were in that game," McCullum said. "But we've done some pretty special things over the last little while, and this team's got a lot of steel and a lot of resolve about it.

"I'm not saying we're going to go out and win this Test match, because we may not, Australia may be too good for us. But I'm pretty confident we're going to put in a much stronger performance. where that sits in the overall perspective of Australians and how they view the New Zealand cricket team, that's out of our control. We've got a three-Test match series here, we've got an opportunity still to win the series, we've got an opportunity to show how good we can be, and it remains to be seen whether we can do that."

The single most significant exemplar for McCullum's team and their capacity to find something better than the Brisbane version of themselves will the performance of the left-armer Trent Boult. While doubt will swirl around the fitness of Tim Southee until the toss of the coin, it is already very clear that he will not be at his very best in this fixture.

That will only increase the need for Boult to produce something far better than the halting, unrhythmic display he put in at the Gabba, where his skills of speed and swing were only briefly glimpsed in the ball that did for Smith on the second morning. Asked how much Boult could improve in the space of a week, McCullum paused.

"I guess it remains to be seen," he said. "Trent's been a very good bowler for us for a period of time. He's four or five in the world. He has been outstanding in conditions all around the world - he's allowed to have the odd bad Test match. He wasn't at his best at the Gabba. There could be any number of reasons why. He's obviously coming back from injury. There's other circumstances too.

"There's been a lot of good bowlers in world cricket who have struggled at the Gabba in the first Test of the summer too. It's unique, in the conditions that it presents. And even with his action, the climb up the hill [to the Gabba wicket block] can sometimes affect your rhythm as well. There's many different reasons.

"The good thing about Trent is that emotionally he's a level bloke. He knows he's going to have the odd bad day, but it won't affect his confidence. He'll go out there and try to swing the ball, he'll try to take wickets. And if they're good enough to overcome him, then so be it. But I'm pretty sure we'll see a much improved effort from Boult in this Test."

As McCullum insisted, the gap between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane was wide and the result just. But he was equally adamant that these two teams were far closer to each other than the Gabba showed. In the performance of Kane Williamson could be seen the way forward for New Zealand's batsmen and perhaps also their bowlers - his calm and intelligent play was admirably unaffected by issues of climate, surface or opposition.

Somewhat typically of a touring captain, McCullum was asked if he expected the Australians to "go harder" at Williamson and "get stuck into him verbally". At that, McCullum smiled. "I can't see it fazing Kane to be honest," he said. "Kane just gets into a Zen-like manner and goes out there and scores runs, that's what Kane does.

"Occasionally he's going to miss out, he may miss out in this Test match, but he's a wonderful player for us. I think there's been a whole lot of headlines about him the last few days as well, he wouldn't have any idea about that, he just goes about his game, and likes making contributions with bat in hand. I'm confident he'll be able to withstand whatever is thrown at him."

For the sake of the series, and the summer, each member of the New Zealand XI could do with a touch of that Williamson serenity.