I guess we can call the first Test between Australia and the BLACKCAPS a reality check as the Aussies ran away with a victory that was far too easy from a kiwi perspective. New Zealand have not only struggled in Brisbane (no touring team has done too well there), they have also developed the worrying trend of struggling in the first Test with a loss to England backed up by this lacklustre display. Throw in the 'lack of suitable preparation' narrative and I think it's time we move on to the second Test.

Perth and it's WACA wicket presents a different challenge for the kiwis, who were fragile against the pace, accuracy and skill from Australia. It was a weird batting effort from NZ in Brisbane as the top order enjoyed time at the crease in which they looked comfortable with Tom Latham, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson all getting 'starts' in the first innings which was then repeated in the second innings with Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum also working their way through the early stages of their innings'.

The work of openers Guptill and Latham was encouraging as they continue to establish themselves as a combo in Test cricket. Guptill took his time in both innings' as he toiled hard for his 23 and 23. I like Guppy The Anchor and as Latham looks more comfortable as an opener he has become the opener who plays a few more shots and does his best to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Think of our history with openers ... having two openers get starts in either innings is a step up from guaranteed early wickets. The next step however is for Latham or Guptill to go big and make the most of these starts, which was one of the major differences between the two teams in the first Test. Pretty much all of our top ..., well our batsmen all the way down to Trent Boult and his flamingo swag enjoyed time at the crease and the top/middle order especially handled Australia's bowlers rather well.

Australia's bowlers, who maintained pressure by bowling in threatening areas throughout their spells could be the reason for this. This was a large portion of the reason along with Australia's batsmen making the most of a flat-ish wicket once they had established themselves at the crease. Maybe our batsmen were never truly 'in'?

Kane Williamson was certainly 'in' but even he fell victim to this in the second innings. Both he (56) and Brendon McCullum (80) were dismissed after doing the hard work, which is harsh but the BLACKCAPS needed at least one century to earn a fighting draw/..............win.

The injury to Jimmy Neesham now forces McCullum and coach Mike Hesson into a funky decision. Mitchell Santner is in the squad as the back up all-rounder and would give the BLACKCAPS a left-arm spin option, adding some spice to a mundane pace attack and Santner will be as good with the bat as Neesham was in Brisbane.

Playing in Perth usually doesn't mean that you play another spinner though, oh and given how mundane our pace attack was and the niggling injury that Tim Southee is dealing with, another seamer will be very handy. Mitchell McClenaghan and Neil Wagner have joined the squad plus there's Matt Henry didn't play in Brisbane.

McClenaghan offers a more feisty attitude with the bowl, kind of similar to the Aussies but he's not as good.

Wagner will graft all day and can swing the old ball. I like Wagner the most.

Henry was already in the squad which in theory means he's ranked ahead of Wagner. Personally, I reckon you have to play either Bracewell or Henry, not both and while NZ struggled with the ball in Brisbane, not much went right for anyone so I'm weary of chopping and changing too much.

If a bowler, Wagner for example, replaced Neesham, then a batting order that also struggled would be further weakened. Bring in a batsmen though and you're asking a lot of Southee and this bowling attack to step up with three seamers, a spinner and a part-timer in Williamson. This is why I do like the idea of Santner replacing Neesham as his overs of spin, like his batting will probably be as good as Neesham's work with bat and ball in Brisbane.

Mark Craig was the weak link of the bowling attack as he failed in his role as the no.1 spinner. This was also the case in England and you could point to the fact that Craig hadn't bowled at the Gabba too often before, if ever, as a reason for Craig's struggles. The WACA will also offer nice bounce for Craig to use as a weapon, although Craig struggled to serve up constant pressure from his end.

There's always the chance that Craig doesn't suit up for the Test in Perth if McCullum would rather have the extra pace bowler. Santner would come in for Neesham and offer spin while the bowling attack could consist of Southee, Boult, Bracewell and Wagner. I wouldn't sleep on this idea, especially in Perth and the four-pronged pace attack in combination with Santner's and Williamson's tweakers could be a funky bowling unit.

McCullum dubbed this team a 'bounce back' team. We didn't see too much fight in Brisbane which was disappointing but the BLACKCAPS are now presented with the opportunity to back McCullum's words up. Australia are firmly the favourites on another unique wicket, yet I'm optimistic that the BLACKCAPS' batsmen are encouraged by the starts they got in the first Test and that the bowlers are encouraged by the fact that they didn't bowl very well. We haven't seen this bowling attack struggle too often.