New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum believes Australia is still the best cricket side in the world, but that hasn't stopped him from firing an early verbal barb ahead of the opening 3 Mobile Test in Brisbane.
McCullum identified a Test tour of Australia as the toughest challenge in international cricket, but was hopeful that New Zealand may be able to take advantage of an Australian team that is in a supposedly transitional stage.
"In comparison to the older Australian side, they're definitely more vulnerable, that’s the nature of losing three once in a lifetime cricketers in [Adam] Gilchrist, [Shane] Warne and [Glenn] McGrath," McCullum said.
"Take that sort of ability and class out of any side and it's going to take them a little while to rebuild."
"The fact they haven't comeback to the pack as quickly or as much as what other people predicted is testament to their ability to set new standards for themselves and continue to push harder."
McCullum accepted that his side was a rank outsider to claim victory in the first Test at the Gabba, but believed the long odds could give New Zealand an edge if it takes up the mentality of having nothing to lose.
"There's such a big gulf between what Australia's achieved and what we've achieved in the last little while in Test cricket, from that perspective threre's probably no reason why people would expect an equal contest," said McCullum.
"The thing for us is that we're incredibly high on self-belief and drive within our own unit and we're trying to achieve something that hasn't been achieved over here for something like 20-odd years."
The last time New Zealand journeyed across the Tasman Sea and left with a Test series victory was in 1985/86.
McCullum, who is set to bat up the order at No.5, had a simple answer as to what the key to an upset victory would be: runs, and lots of them.
"If we're going to beat Australia we need to score big runs at the top order, and I'm not talking 300, 350, we got to be banking up high 400s, early 500s for us to be as potent as what we can be with the ball," he said.
"We've got to work out how we're going to get big runs from our top six, that's the only way to beat Australia. India and England have done it the last couple of years and that's why their bowlers were so potent."
"If we can outscore the Australian top order it's going to give us our best chance of winning."
Of course racking up a match-winning score will be easier said then done.
New Zealand folded meekly in its only tour match, a six-wicket loss to an inexperience NSW outfit, and is coming off a 1-0 Test series win over Bangladesh where it largely failed to impress.
McCullum, who showed what damage he can do with the bat when he clubbed an unbeaten 158 in the season opening IPL fixture, said his side cannot let its recent results weigh on its minds.
"From our point of view, we've just got to keep looking forward, we can't be looking back at what’s happened in the past," he said.
"We're under no illusions that we're going to have to play at our absolute best for all five days for us to have a chance of winning this game."
McCullum aggravated a back injury during the match against the Blues, but tipped he would be back to full fitness come Thursday.