AUSTRALIA will finally get their hands on a red ball as the mission to reclaim the No.1 Test ranking begins in earnest under the watchful eye of coach Darren Lehmann in Wellington.

The captain and vice-captain might be in Hamilton trying to bring home the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, but eight members of the Test squad not involved in the ODI final will be launching into the first training session of a shot-gun preparation in the New Zealand capital.

Question marks have already been asked about Australia’s ability to win when the ball is swinging, and the absence of an official tour match means the pressure will be well and truly on when the crucial two-match series against the Black Caps kicks off on Friday.

The entire 14-man squad will come together on Tuesday, but in the meantime Lehmann and assistant coach Craig McDermott will oversee an intense two-day pre-camp that should have at least the bowling attack ready to fire.

Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird and Chadd Sayers are all on the ground in Wellington and have a golden opportunity to acclimatise to conditions.

Josh Hazlewood is the only quick missing but the leader of the pack has had the benefit of having already been in the country for more than a week with the ODI side.

Opener Joe Burns has never played an overseas tour before and will relish an extra session or two facing the Aussie quicks in the nets.

Adam Voges (149) and Peter Nevill (69) warmed up in style during the Shield match played in Christchurch and the middle-order batting pair will look to continue their faultless preparations.

Former Test quick Mike Whitney says Australia’s quicks should be bowling at batsmen with exclusively red balls in the nets, so that match-type conditions can be as closely replicated as possible.

New Zealand’s swing king Trent Boult appears on track leading into the Test series and partner in crime Tim Southee is poised to make an injury return in time for the opener in Wellington.

Australia’s chronic failures against the moving ball in the UK the past two Ashes tours have given reason for concern coming to a tour in New Zealand.

Particularly in one where there is so much on the line – Australia need only win 1-0 to clinch the No.1 Test ranking, a huge achievement for a team that has experienced some significant ups and downs in recent years.

Lehmann will be relishing the opportunity to get back into training his troops again after being grounded in Sydney for more than two weeks as he recovered from deep vein thrombosis.

McDermott’s experience will be called upon to help Bird and Sayers to adjust to the Australian set-up and help Pattinson get things right after the young enforcer struggled at times in his Shield return for Victoria last week.