Fitness doubts over established fast-bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle could aid the claims of Chadd Sayers to play ahead of them.

Australia's selection for the first Test, beginning on February 8, is complicated by the fact arguably the only two bowlers guaranteed of selection, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, are the only two who will have the opportunity to play in local conditions before that match.

The four pacemen who will compete for two spots – Jackson Bird is the other – will have to be content with Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia.

While Pattinson is slated to play in half of next week's Victoria-Tasmania match, in what will be his comeback from shin soreness, captain Smith suggested Siddle was no certainty to join Pattinson in what would be his first match since ankle soreness sidelined him from the SCG Test.

"He [Siddle] is obviously coming back from a bit of a sore foot, but I think the break has been good for him. Hopefully he's ready to go for the series, because he's got the skills to make it very difficult for New Zealand," he said.

"We're going to have a few net sessions before we start. We'll have a look and see how they're going, see how their bodies are and see who's going to be best for the conditions that we're faced with. It's going to be a tough call on whomever misses out, but we're confident that these guys are going to do a job for us in New Zealand."

Sayers was selected on the back of his consistency in the Sheffield Shield across the past three and a half seasons. He is one of the few players in recent seasons to be a Test contender without having a BBL deal. Like now-retired Chris Rogers, it is considered he lacks the capability to change his approach to suit the shortest form of the game.

While the vast majority of Australia first-choice shield players were in white-ball mode, Sayers' only opportunity to play has been for Glenelg in Adelaide club cricket. In his most recent red-ball match a fortnight ago he claimed nine wickets.

The South Australian has only barely crossed paths with Smith. The only match they played against each other was a Futures League match December 2007. The only matches they have played together were two Australia A matches preceding the 2013 Ashes series.

Sayers, 28, is conspicuously slower than the rest of the seamers in the squad – but, significantly, moves the ball more than his peers, which is why he has been chosen for the tour.

Smith said he would have no qualms about selecting and relying on the right-armer in New Zealand, despite that pace gap.

"That's not a big concern for me," the captain said. "He's got a big tank, he bowls a lot of overs and he has done extremely well in shield cricket in the last couple of years. If the wicket has got anything in it he'll get a lot out of it and be really successful for us."