Some context

The Australian summer officially begins on Thursday with the first day of the first Test against New Zealand. In keeping with the Black Caps' lowly international status the two-Test contest is little more than a prelude to the arrival of India that follows. Such is the hype of the Big Bash League, there is a danger this match-up could even play second fiddle to Warnie's second coming.

Australia comes into the series on the back of a schizophrenic visit to South Africa that featured a calamitous first Test defeat and a Pat Cummins inspired (Cumminspired?) second Test revival.

The unpredictable results reflect the unpredictability of the Australian line up that, through loss of form and fitness is undergoing significant changes from the unit that performed so abjectly in last summer's Ashes. Changes to the playing personnel are matched by changes behind the scenes. Staffing adjustments recommended by the Argus report will be in post for the first time for the NZ series and watching the behaviour of new coach, Mickey Arthur, general manager of high performance, Pat Howard and the revised selection panel of John Inverarity, Andy Bichel and Rod Marsh, will add an extra dimension to this brief affair.

New Zealand is in a state of transition itself with a captain (Ross Taylor) / coach (John Wright) combination less than a year old. That pair is looking to revive a historically combative side enduring a prolonged run of dismal form. New Zealand has just two Test victories to its credit since November 2009, at home to Bangladesh and more recently against lowly Zimbabwe, and even then they were lucky to cling on by a marginal score. Extended further back, Kiwis can celebrate just three Test wins since October 2008.  This does not make for optimistic predictions.

That victory over Zimbabwe was New Zealand's last international action and preceded a dominant display in their only warm up fixture of their tour of Australia, against Australia A.

Who's playing?

Most casual observers will need their programmes handy to recognise Australia's XI at the Gabba. The bowling attack in particular has plenty of sap, with just Peter Siddle playing Test cricket in Australia before. Nathan Lyon, with a mammoth five Tests to his name takes on the role of veteran, with two debutants from the list of James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Ben Cutting making up the numbers. Recent squad inclusions suggest Pattinson will get his baggy green. Starc's left-arm variation and good recent form indicates he will also feature. However, Cutting, a Queenslander, could trump them both on his home wicket and with a new selection panel in place, history will count for little.

Further up the order the rash of injuries has spared Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting from any chop but injuries to Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson allow Usman Khawaja to retain his spot and David Warner to debut.

For New Zealand, hopes are high for a powerful looking batting order. Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum both rank inside the world's top-30 Test batsmen, while Daniel Vettori, Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill sit inside the top-50. Taylor, McCullum and Ryder all hit tons against Australia A.

Unfortunately the bowling stocks are not so deep. Vettori carries the attack with his intelligent left-arm spin but Chris Martin and Tim Southee flatter to deceive at the elite level. 21-year old Doug Bracewell will be hoping to follow in his family's illustrious footsteps, while 22-year old Trent Boult may also get a guernsey. Regardless, failure from Australia's top order in the next four innings will come with few excuses.

Who should win?

Cricketing history between these two neighbouring adversaries, and the reality that New Zealand is currently rubbish, means anything other than a 2-0 series win for Australia would be a surprise.

Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba curator, has indicated the pitch will play much livelier than in recent years, increasing the probability of a result.

The outcome looks like it will be decided by how successful Australia's green attack proves against a solid Kiwi top-order. Considering Peter Siddle, the attack leader, has a strike rate over 60, this is no foregone conclusion.

What does it all mean?

Despite appearing little more than a net session before the real action kicks off on Boxing Day, this series has come around at just the right time for Australia. With the amount of injuries, form concerns and general turbulence accompanying this Australian team, New Zealand provides the perfect opposition to clarify a number of issues.

Most obviously it allows debutants Warner, and two of Pattinson, Starc or Cutting to ease into their Test careers in a comparatively low-key setting. Along the same lines, it enables the new administration to get to know the lie of the land away from the glare of say an Ashes or Indian series.

New Zealand also provides the ideal opposition to establish the futures of Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin. If either fails to score heavily in this series they must surely be jettisoned for India's visit. Both are close to their final chances and against such a friendly bowling attack if either fails to cash in they must expect to be checked out. Similarly, Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja would do well to string some decent scores together. Both will expect to be fixtures in a youthful looking Australian side for years to come, but in a series like this they are required to establish themselves as dominant international batsmen.