They may be one of the most inexperienced New Zealand sides to tour Australia, but that has not stopped Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori from expecting big things from his raw chargers ahead of the opening 3 Mobile Test in Brisbane.
Apart from Vettori, wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum and paceman Chris Martin are the only other players in the New Zealand squad to have played in over 20 Test matches.
Australia head into the series as staunch favourites, but Vettori has faith that his side can compete against the top ranked Test side in the world.
"I look at our group of guys and know there's some exceptional talent there, we do have that inexperienced tag hanging over us, but I'd like to think we're better than that," Vettori said.
"I don’t want to use that as an excuse for not winning."
"I look at my team and back them to compete against Australia, and if we can put on that spectacular performance, then we do have a chance of winning."
Inclement weather has hampered the preparation of the pitch at the Gabba and Vettori believed winning the toss on Thursday would go a long way to winning the match.
"I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the toss, but I think we all know it's important."
"With the rain that's been about and the nature of the Gabba wicket, if you can get in there and win the toss and bowl, make some inroads, then it can make a huge difference to your fortunes throughout a game."
But Vettori knew his batsmen must perform at their absolute best if called upon on day one, where conditions are tipped to be lively and favour the pacemen.
"If we can get through those first two, two and a half sessions, then you do give yourself a chance."
"If you don't get through that first session, then it makes it really tough."
Vettori hinted that his side will bring in untried all-rounder Grant Elliott in an effort to add depth to their batting order ahead of the opening Test of the summer.
The left-arm spinner had the support of a four-prong pace attack when the Black Caps took on NSW in their only tour match.
But after being humbled by an inexperienced Blues side that rolled them for lowly totals of 266 and 256 en route to a six-wicket win, Vettori suggested Elliott could get the nod for what would be his third Test.
"I haven't had a good chance to have a look at the wicket, but we've talked long and hard about it," he said.
"Looking at the balance of the side, whether to bring in a Grant Elliott at number seven, and if so, which seamer to leave out. So we'll make those decisions today."
"We're looking at him as a batsman, we try not to bring into play the fact that he bowls a bit."
"We want the best batsman at that position, and I think the guy who comes into the side will bat at seven."
The match will also be burly batsman Jesse Ryder's third Test and Vettori was expecting big things from the slugger.
"This is obviously the real test for him."
"We understand how talented he is, now we're just trying to get that experience into him so he can be a very good player for New Zealand for a long time."
Ryder, who has