All you need to know: New Zealand v Australia T20 series

Series facts

Schedule:

February 21: Sky Stadium, Wellington (5.10pm AEDT)

 

February 23: Eden Park, Auckland (5:10pm AEDT)

 

February 25: Eden Park, Auckland (11am AEDT)

How to watch: Every ball of the series is live and exclusive to Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports

Live scores, highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, T: tie  

Australia: LWWLLWLLWW

There will be high expectations for Australia considering it defeated a near-full strength West Indies side 2-1 in its latest T20 series with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Travis Head resting, and Josh Hazlewood only playing in one of the games.

Australia’s form before this series saw a vastly different side gear up for five T20s in India which followed soon after a 50-over World Cup triumph. A heap of usual first-picked players travelled back to Australia to rest as others flew in to fill the gaps. Aaron Hardie, Matt Short, Spencer Johnson and Tanveer Sangha made their debuts in the series which Australia lost 4-1 to India which also managed players.

New Zealand: LWWWWWDLWW

Like Australia, New Zealand won all the matches in their last T20 series besides the final ‘dead rubber’ match. Only difference was the Black Caps had a five-game series instead of three.

It was an impressive series too with the Black Caps facing a competitive Pakistan side and proving to be a superior side with strong performances throughout.

Notably in September last year, the Black Caps came from 2-0 down to level the series against England over there. It is clear they are a formidable side in the shortest format of the game and will pose a challenge.

Series squads

Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Aussie selectors have picked a full-strength side for the series ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.

When the squad for New Zealand was announced before the three T20s against West Indies, National Selection Panel chair George Bailey said the games will play a part in their selection for the World Cup.

"The next six games will provide us the opportunity to start shaping what we think our World Cup squad will look like and potential roles within that,” Bailey said.

Matt Short remains in the squad after avoiding any potential off a late exit after injuring his hamstring in the second T20 against the West Indies. Nathan Ellis will also return to full fitness after overcoming a rib injury he suffered in his final game of the Big Bash season.

Fast bowler Spencer Johnson has come in for Marcus Stoinis who is a late out from the squad due to a back issue. Stoinis is expected to be available again soon however.

Aaron Hardie had calf soreness during the week playing Sheffield Shield cricket for WA which ruled him out as a potential inclusion.

Matthew Wade will be out for the first T20 against New Zealand for the birth of his third child with Josh Inglis expected to take the gloves.

New Zealand T20 squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell will not feature in the T20 series as he looks to recover from a foot injury in time for the Test matches against Australia.

He is expected to return for the first Test match starting on February 29 with recovery tracking well at this stage.

It is a big blow for New Zealand who had the Mitchell fire with two half centuries in the first four T20s in their five-game T20 series against Pakistan.

Both sides will need to lock in a 15-player squad for the T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies.

Players to watch

With Josh Hazlewood unavailable for the IPL due to the birth of his first child, he will be doing everything he can to impress selectors in his last bid to make the team for the T20 World Cup.

With his fast-bowling teammates Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Spencer Johnson playing in the IPL following the New Zealand tour, Hazlewood will likely feature in all three T20s before spending time away from the game.

Selectors are yet to firm up their decision on a long-term captain for the T20 side with this three-game series to decide which way they go.

Mitchell Marsh is the current captain and will undertake the role with coach Andrew McDonald in attendance after the coach had rested in previous T20s.

Speaking in January, Bailey said a decision on the full-time skipper would come after the T20s against New Zealand.

"One thing we are conscious of is Mitch hasn't had a chance to work yet with Andrew McDonald as coach," Bailey said, with Michael Di Venuto having filled that role in South Africa last August while Daniel Vettori will coach against the West Indies.

Josh Inglis will have a big opportunity to impress selectors with the gloves in the first T20 of the series with Matthew Wade expected to miss the match due the birth of his third child.

When Wade returns, it will be intriguing to see how selectors handle the situation.

New Zealand opener Finn Allen was devastating in his side’s last T20 series scoring 34 off 15 balls, 74 off 41 balls and 137 off 62 balls in the first three games respectively.

Black Caps quick Tim Southee was the top performing bowler in his side’s T20 series against Pakistan taking 10 wickets from five matches.

His leading performance was 4-33 in the first game of the series which led to a 21-run win.

Head-to-head

Overall: New Zealand (6 wins), Australia (10 wins)

 

In New Zealand: New Zealand (4 wins), Australia (6 wins)

 

Most runs: Martin Guptill (463), Devon Conway (284), Aaron Finch (269), Glenn Maxwell (262), Kane Williamson (232)

 

Most wickets: Ish Sodhi (17), Trent Boult (14), Ashton Agar (13), Mitchell Santner (12), Tim Southee (12)

Venue stats

Rapid stats

• New Zealand defeated Australia by 89 runs when they last met in a men’s T20I (22 October 2022); the Black Caps will be aiming for back-to-back wins against Australia for only the second time in the history of the format (2 wins in February 2021).
• New Zealand lost their most recent men’s T20I at home (21 January 2024 v Pakistan), snapping a five-match winning run in such fixtures; the Black Caps will be looking to avoid back-to-back home defeats in the format for the first time since November 2022.
• Australia have lost four of their last five men’s T20Is away from home (W1) – more than they lost across their 14 such fixtures prior to that span (W11 L3).
• Australia have the best batting average (35.3) and batting strike rate (167.6) of any Test playing country in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2023; in addition, they have scored a higher percentage of their total runs from boundaries (68% of 2,154 runs) than any other full member side in the format in the same timeframe.
• David Warner (3,067) is 54 away from becoming the all-time leading run scorer for Australia in men’s T20Is (Aaron Finch – 3,120); Warner has scored 70+ in two of his last three T20I innings (81, 22, 70).
• Glenn Maxwell (103) is one away from surpassing Aaron Finch (103) for the outright most appearances for Australia in men’s T20Is; Maxwell’s T20I batting average against New Zealand (32.8) is his third best (min. 3 innings) against any team (48.2 v Sri Lanka and 37.6 v West Indies).
• Mark Chapman (989) is 11 away from becoming the 11th player to score 1,000 runs for New Zealand in men’s T20Is; although, he has scored only a single run in three of his last five T20I innings (1, 1, 4, 26, 1).
• Lockie Ferguson (49) is one away from becoming the seventh player to take 50 wickets for New Zealand in men’s T20Is; if he achieves the milestone in this match (37*), he’d be the second fastest player to reach it for the Black Caps (Trent Boult – 36 matches).

What's on the line?

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy previously only contested in ODI cricket will now be awarded to series victors in T20Is between Australia and New Zealand. 

So both countries will be putting everything on the line to claim the historic award which has been going since 2004-05. Notably, the Black Caps will want to improve their record against Australia especially with the home ground advantage they will have. 

The three-game series also marks significant T20 World Cup preparations for the teams with the global ICC event just months away now. 

Qantas Tour of New Zealand

February 21: First T20, Wellington, 5.10pm AEDT

February 23: Second T20, Auckland, 5.10pm AEDT

February 25: Third T20, Auckland, 11am AEDT

Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

New Zealand T20 squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

February 29 – March 4: First Test, Wellington, 9am AEDT

March 8-12: Second Test, Christchurch, 9am AEDT

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc

New Zealand Test squad: Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young.