Brendon McCullum fires warning at Australia by making bold Kane Williamson claim

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has dubbed the current Australia-visiting Kiwi side as the 'greatest in this generation'. New Zealand have not won a Test series in Australia since 1985. They will be taking on the hosts in the first Test at Perth on Thursday, December 11. Interesting, New Zealand have not lost a Test series since March 2017.

ALSO READ | Brendon McCullum's 2011 prophecy on Kane Williamson trumps Ricky Ponting's criticism

Brendon McCullum hopes for a strong performance

The New Zealand legend believes that the Blackcaps can stun their Trans-Tasman rivals in their own backyard in the Test series. McCullum talked to a leading Australian news outlet about how the challenge of winning a Test series in Australia is one of the biggest that a Kiwi cricketer can face. McCullum insisted that the New Zealand side will be ready for the Australians, this time around and talked up his team's chances in the Day-Night Test in Perth. Even Australia head coach Justin Langer recently talked about how the Aussies are not underestimating the Kiwis and have studied them well. Some of McCullum's favourite players in the current lineup are Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

ALSO READ | ICC pays unique tribute to Kiwi great Brendon McCullum on his birthday

Australia vs New Zealand: Full Series schedule and squads

Here is the series schedule for Australia vs. New Zealand Test series:

• 1st Test - Perth - December 12 to December 16
• 2nd Test - Melbourne - December 26 to December 30
• 3rd Test - Sydney - January 3 to January 7

ALSO READ | Jimmy Neesham takes a dig at former NZ captain Brendon McCullum

New Zealand:

Kane Williamson (captain), BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson, and Tom Blundell.

Australia:

Tim Paine (captain/wicketkeeper), David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, and Michael Neser.

ALSO READ | Brendon McCullum reunites with KKR, joins IPL side as head coach