When you're playing in a team it's expected you don't get too cocky when talking about your opponents – in public, at least. That's no longer an issue for me obviously, so I hope you know that when I say don't write off the Black Caps I genuinely mean it.

The main player I've got higher hopes for at the WACA, compared to what they did at the Gabba, is Trent Boult.

I was there at Eden Park in the World Cup when he got 5-27 against the Aussies, when his pace and results made him a strong rival to Mitch Starc. I was also there at the Gabba when he was not in the same league as Starcy in terms of pace.

Trent Boult will bounce back, says Ryan Harris. Photo: Getty Images

I don't read a lot into the latter, other than it being a sign of him being really underdone.

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As a bowler you're always glancing up at the scoreboard to see what the speed gun says. Whether it's accurate or not who knows, but you've definitely got one eye on it. Boult would've known already his pace was down at the Gabba, but the gun confirmed it.

Since hurting his back during the Tests in England in the middle of the year Boult was out for three months. The only competitive bowling he had before the Gabba was one appearance in the Plunket Shield (NZ's Sheffield Shield) and the a one-dayer against the Prime Minister's XI. It's all well and good to have a lot of net bowling but match bowling is priceless.

He will be better for the bowl, much better. I've watched him a bit over the past 18 months and he's done enough to convince me he's a world-class bowler – not just at the World Cup but also in England, and India, and even the UAE against Pakistan.

You can't write him off. He's too good. He'll bounce back, especially here in Perth. This is probably his first major injury scare since he's come into Test cricket so he's probably still working out how to fully get back from that.

Ross Taylor also copped some heat from the first Test, but I reckon he emerged from it in better nick than most think he did. In the first Test series I played, over in NZ in 2010, I saw him near his best when he got a century in Hamilton when every else struggled to reach 50.

In the times I've played against Taylor he can look a bit unsettled early, but the other day I thought he made big steps. He didn't look great in the first innings but he came out in the second innings and even though he played and missed at a couple he got going – and when he gets going he's a fantastic batter. He scores quickly as well. If he bounces back and Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum can keep up their good form, and one of the others too, they'll be in a much better place.

I never bowled to Williamson and from afar I don't see an easy way to get him out, other than to rely on my usual strategy of pitching the ball up and trying to swing it away, to get an edge, or trap him leg-before. He seems to do well in any situation. It doesn't matter if they're 4-50 or whatever, he'll keep playing his game. His technique is good. He moves his feet around the crease and hits the ball so late. It's little wonder Sir Richard Hadlee says he could be their best-ever batsman.

Even though McCullum batted really well in the second innings Williamson is again going to be the man for them. They'll bat around him. For them to win, however, they'll need even more contributors.

Martin Guptill is a natural scorer, but if he comes out like he did in Brisbane it won't help his team. Admittedly in the second innings he was trying to save the game, but if he does that again and his opening partner Tom Latham isn't scoring it puts even more pressure on Williamson to come out and score.

The batsmen will hopefully be tested by the WACA deck. It went through a period there where it lost a bit of its edge but it's definitely coming back. I remember playing a one-day game there in 2001. Brad Williams was playing for WA, with Jo Angel beside him, and he was bowling absolute rockets. Their keeper, Adam Gilchrist, was nearly on the 30-metre circle, if not further. That was the WACA at its best.

The game against England a couple of years ago wasn't bad either. I've come to Perth for the first few days of the match and am booked to do some corporate stuff too. I'm expecting – and, to be honest, hoping – a recurring question will be "that" ball to Alastair Cook, to knock him over in the first ball of the second innings. I'll be dining out on the ball a bit, definitely. I tried to master that ball for 15 years and finally got one out. It was a good feeling. If I can't bowl them any more, then at least I can still talk about them.