WELLINGTON (Reuters)
New Zealand will be near full-strength for the first time in almost two years for the forthcoming tour of Australia, coach Denis Aberhart said on Thursday.

New Zealand leave on Saturday for the nine-match, three-Test tour, Aberhart's first assignment since taking over from David Trist in July. "A tour to Australia is the biggest challenge so I'm looking forward to it and so are the players," Aberhart said.

New Zealand, who pulled out of a tour to Pakistan following the September 11 attacks in the United States, will open their Australian visit with a four-day match against Queensland's second XI in Brisbane on October 16.

The first Test, also in Brisbane, begins on November 8. Aberhart said the cancellation of the Pakistan tour was disappointing as it would have provided a chance for the players, particularly those returning from injury, to gain some "match hardness".

NZ will be bolstered by the expected return to Test cricket of allrounders Chris Cairns and Dion Nash, and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori after lengthy injury lay-offs. "They're not only your experienced players, they're your match winners so it's great to have them back. They are competitive, they are aggressive and they've showed they can compete against anyone in the world," said Aberhart.

The trio will be joined by left-arm swing bowler Shayne O'Connor, who is returning after knee surgery. The last time Cairns, Nash and Vettori -- who between them share 370 test wickets -- played together in a Test, NZ won by an innings (against the West Indies in December 1999).

Gavin Larsen, the former NZ player-turned-commentator, said the middle-order, already rich in strokemakers, would be strengthened by the return of the trio.

Facing the might of Australia's bowling attack -- likely to include the world's top ranked bowler Glenn McGrath, speedsters Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, and leg-spinning wizard Shane Warne -- NZ's sometimes brittle batting line-up will need to deliver to have any chance of toppling the world champions.

Following the exclusion of the experienced Matt Horne, his opening partner Matthew Bell and left-hander Mark Richardson have emerged as key players at the top of the order. The pair performed admirably during Pakistan's tour of NZ last season, with Richardson named New Zealand cricketer of the year in his first international campaign.

He scored 710 runs in nine Tests at an average of 54.61 but he and Bell face a tough challenge opening the batting on Australia's fast and bouncy pitches rather than NZ's tamer tracks, Larsen said.

"The stats in previous Aussie tours have been pretty disastrous in terms of opening partnerships -- this is a different kettle of fish. We've got a middle order chock full of strokemakers but ideally you don't want them exposed early on."

Mathew Sinclair, who usually bats at No. 3, has proved his ability to make big centuries, racking up three scores of more than 150, including 214 in his maiden Test in 1999. However, Sinclair's lack of footwork early in his innings was exploited by Australia's pace bowlers later that season and he failed to build an innnings of substance.

Also lining up to take on the Australian bowlers are captain Stephen Fleming, big hitters Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan, and newcomer Lou Vincent, who impressed in his one-day performances and the recent NZ A tour of India.

Australia whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the 1999/2000 series.

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