Australia v New Zealand, 1st Test, Brisbane New Zealand lose Franklin to groin injury Wisden Cricinfo staff
Brett Lee faces another Test match away from the action © Getty Images
James Franklin, the left-arm fast bowler, has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia with a groin injury that has upset New Zealand's preparations for the two-match series. Franklin complained about the strain in the final build-up to the match, which starts tomorrow, and his absence forced a late reshuffle with Kyle Mills coming in and Ian Butler missing out. The coach John Bracewell said Franklin would have been a certain starter and his withdrawal influenced the selection of Mills. "We want to have at least one swing bowler as Brisbane is one of the few places in Australia where you get the opportunity to swing the ball," he said. "It will be about taking the opportunity to pick up a couple of wickets with a swinging ball against a team that goes hard at the bowling." As expected Craig McMillan, a late addition to the tour as cover for Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, will replace Hamish Marshall. Marshall scored a half-century in his only Test innings in Bangladesh, but Bracewell said McMillan was preferred because of his experience. "McMillan's selection gives us someone who is battle hardened for a Test match of such magnitude," he said. "What it really came down to was the small mental things - the fact that Craig has been there and done that. The added bonus of a few overs may help." Brett Lee's time in the dressing room has been extended after he was named 12th man. But Lee, who was used only as a substitute fielder in the India series, will be released from the 12-man squad to play for New South Wales in the ING Cup against Victoria in Melbourne on Sunday. Ricky Ponting said it was important that Lee was given the opportunity to bowl for his state. "Brett's knocking on the door and is fitter, stronger and lighter than he's ever been," Ponting said. "The more overs he has under his belt the better he's going to be." Lee will stay with the Test team for the first two days. With Shane Warne coming back after a broken finger, the bowling attack is the same one that led Australia to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. "The guys in the side deserve to be there and you can't fault for one second the work of Michael Kasprowicz in both forms of the game," Ponting said. "Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillepsie are the same." Ponting said he was confident Darren Lehmann would be mentally ready after giving evidence on Monday at the trial of a hotel bouncer charged with the manslaughter of David Hookes. "I brought it up at a team meeting and it's been a tough couple of days," he said. "But seeing Darren you'd have thought there was nothing different." Australia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath. New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Mathew Sinclair, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Brendon McCullum (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Chris Martin. © Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
''November 17, Brisbane, Australia'' - The Australian cricket team has brashly talked up their chances of winning the first trans-Tasman test, which is due to begin in Brisbane tomorrow.

Bowler Shane Warne has stated that he will be targeting New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, Glenn McGrath has revealed that he will be after Nathan Astle, and Australian batsman Matthew Hayden has vowed to hit New Zealand bowler Daniel Vettori out of the ground.

The New Zealand team's reaction to this Australian bravado was muted.  "It's just history repeating itself", said former New Zealand coach and former test player John Bracewell.  "They just have a set of lines they've been using since I've been coming over here and it's exactly the same story, just a different name saying it. It's just repetitious", he went on to say.  New Zealand batsman Scott Styris went further, labelling the Australians' comments as "a yawn".

Australia is widely tipped to win the opening match of the two test series, especially due to New Zealand's loss of frontline players James Franklin, Darryl Tuffey and Shane Bond to injury.