You could say that this Test is the most important Test that the BLACKCAPS have played under Brendon McCullum's rule. There's the emotional aspect in sending out skipper B-Mac out on a high, the sort of high that a man who has smacked NZ Cricket across the face with change deserves and then of course, the BLACKCAPS need to win this Test to ensure they don't suffer a rather stink home Test series defeat.

Needing to win, would we have it any other way for B-Mac's final Test?

We shall begin with B-Mac and the fact that this will be his final Test. At some point I will put fingers to the keyboard regarding B-Mac in some capacity, but could the fact that this is B-Mac's last Test ever help the BLACKCAPS? You'd hope so wouldn't you? You'd hope that instead of swinging the willow in such a reckless manner that many of the kiwi batsmen did in the first Test, they'll pause and spare a thought for their captain, then leave or defend, or push for a single.

Then again, that's not the B-Mac way.

I'm confused.

What could simplfy things is that the BLACKCAPS simply need to win and the grittiness/toughness/mental fortitude that I wanted to see from the BLACKCAPS to save the first Test won't be much use here in the second Test. Hence I'm going to ease up on my desire to see the kiwi batsmen showcasing their knowledge of their game, displaying patience and skill to survive tough patches of Australian bowling led by Josh Hazlewood; what's the difference between losing 1-0 to 2-0?

It's B-Mac's last Test so fuck it, go for gold.

The BLACKCAPS want another green-seamer, only this time around they want Hagley Park to be a better green-seamer that what we saw at the Basin Reserve. Greener for longer is the motto, yolo, yolo but this is a dangerous ploy for me as it was the kiwi batsmen who demonstrated an inability to bat properly against the moving ball, even as Adam Voges and Usman Khawaja stroked boundaries with easy and the pitch apparently flattened out the kiwi batsmen still weren't good enough.

Beautiful view of Wellington from the air now onto Christchurch.

A photo posted by David Warner (@davidwarner31) on Feb 16, 2016 at 3:44pm PST

All of this plays on the idea that the Australian batsmen aren't very good in conditions that help the bowlers. I'm not going to predict anything here, I will instead sit back and enjoy the show because Wellington's Test didn't really provide us with an opportunity to see the Australian batsmen facing Tim Southee's right-arm swing and Trent Boult's left-arm swing (the perfect swinging couple). If the Australian batsmen manage to survive swinging and seaming conditions in this Test then that tells me that the Aussies are thoroughly deserving of their No.1 Test ranking and that there's still a bit of a gap between the two cricketing nations.

Peter Siddle has been ruled out of the second Test, falling victim to back spasms and you'd expect James Pattinson to take his place. This will give Australia a bowling attack who all biff it down with their right-arm (Hazlewood, Bird, Pattinson, Marsh, Lyon) with all three frontline seamers perfectly poised to make the most of any favourable conditions.

There's also a bit of a change due in the BLACKCAPS bowling attack with Doug Bracewell ruled out and he'll be replaced by Matt Henry or Neil Wagner. Clarity around Wagner's use doesn't exist as he would have been perfect on the Basin Reserve pitch that apparently flattened out (maybe Hesson and B-Mac misread the pitch?) and it's a bummer that Bracewell won't get to play around on a pitch that appears destined to have suited his out-swing/nibble combo.

Henry or Wagner? If Hagley Park's pitch is going stay greener for longer then I'd roll with Henry hits a probing length, drawing batsmen into a shot and generally attacking the stumps. My only question around Henry is if he can display that patience required from Test bowlers and shown by Australia's bowlers in the first Test, Henry's young and no kiwi bowler showed the ability to build pressure with dot balls in Wellington so whether or not Henry can do this will be interesting if he's selected.

If the pitch is to stay green and keep the seamers interested throughout the Test, I wouldn't sleep on both Henry and Wagner playing, taking the place of Bracewell and Mark Craig.

It goes without saying that Tim Southee and Trent Boult have to be a lot better, this BLACKCAPS team doesn't quite look as threatening when they aren't taking at least 5 wickets per innings between them. If it's swinging and seaming then great, this won't always be the case though and they've got to find a way to be dominant on without swing.

Flashback: There were 4 caught & bowleds in Australia's 1st innings - two of them screamers! See how @tim_southee & @trrrent_ train for the return catch! #NZvAUS

A video posted by BLACKCAPS (@blackcapsnz) on Feb 14, 2016 at 12:31pm PST

Also intriguing me is the battle between the two allrounders of either team. Corey Anderson scored 38 and 0 to go with bowling figures of 2/79 off 18 overs while Mitch Marsh fell victim to that stunner of a catch from Boult, out for a 5-ball duck however he did do a great job with the ball: 0/15 off 6 overs and 3/73 off 17.3 overs.

The game situation meant we didn't quite get an even dose of Anderson and Marsh, so it's hard to go further than saying that I like Marsh's bowling more than Anderson's. Both weren't overly good with the bat and both got through a decent chunk of overs with the ball so it will be interesting to see who has the greater impact in Christchurch. The BLACKCAPS need Anderson's runs, especially if they are pushing for a green-seamer which will increase the likelihood of early wickets and increasing the possibility of Anderson needing to stick around.

Marsh is nicely suited to kiwi bowling conditions and according to the Sydney Morning Herald, B-Mac is Marsh's bunny with Marsh dismissing B-Mac five times in his last nine Test innings. Marsh has figures of 5/27 from 37 balls against B-Mac which doesn't make for good reading, especially when B-Mac averages 24.59 against Australia.

This is what worries me about Australia as if it's not Hazlewood, Bird or Pattinson, it's Marsh. If it's not Voges or Khawaja, it's David Warner or Steve Smith and these guys all know their Test games inside-out, they are comfortable with their roles within the Australian Test team and how they go about their business. I'm not confident of a kiwi victory.

But it's all about B-Mac right? As has always been the case with B-Mac, that live by the sword, die by the sword yarn applies and I've got the feeling that this Test could reflect B-Mac the cricketer either way.

Aggressive, attacking, chasing victory, playing freely with a smile on ya dial, winning a big Test match in your natural style.

Or ... impatient, reckless and finishing as Australia's bunny/bunnies.