A real preview

Here is the real deal, Peter Roebuck assesses the two sides before the first test and says things don't look good for New Zealand. Meanwhile, The Australian doesn't even bother to look at our chances and instead starts speculating on how many runs the Australians will score and how many batting records they will break.

In updated team news, I heard that Kyle Mills has come in for James Franklin (groin strain) just as I was climbing into bed last night. It didn't help me sleep. Bracewell said he wanted to bring in a swing bowler to replace a swing bowler - which is a good theory but sadly there is a difference between a left-arm bowler who swings the ball late and a right-arm bowler who swings the ball from the hand. Mills will always look like he gets more swing, but because the ball starts swinging early he gives the batsman more chance to react and, in my book, will be far less effective at taking wickets than Franklin would have been.