Once again the coin toss fell the way of Australian captain Ricky Ponting who decided to bat first in the opening Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Ponting, who won every toss in the recently completed Chappell-Hadlee one-day series, and his side will bat first on a bouncy-looking pitch that he likened to Perth's WACA on Thursday.
Australian opener Shane Watson was ruled out of the Test at the last minute however, when a hip injury he picked up in the fourth ODI match resurfaced while training in the build-up. He will be replaced by Phil Hughes.
On a more positive note for the tourists, seamer Ryan Harris overcame a side strain and will make his Test debut. Clint McKay was named as 12th man.
New Zealand named an obvious XI, with Northern Districts seamer Brent Arnel set to make his debut. Arnel,a veteran wicket-taker in domestic cricket, should suit the pitch conditions and will bat at 10.
As skipper Daniel Vettori opted for the pace of Arnel over a second spin option. Jeetan Patel will again provide cover as 12th man.
Conditions are perfect and everything points towards a full day of play in Wellington in the first of the two-match Test series.
New Zealand XI:
TG McIntosh, BJ Watling, PJ Ingram, LRPL Taylor, MJ Guptill, DL Vettori (c), BB McCullum, DR Tuffey, TG Southee, BJ Arnel, CS Martin. 12 man JS Patel.
Australia XI:
PJ Hughes, SM Katich, RT Ponting (c), MJ Clarke, MEK Hussey, MJ North, BJ Haddin, MG Johnson, NM Hauritz, DE Bollinger, RJ Harris. 12th man CJ McKay.