Australia v New Zealand T20Is: All you need to know

T20I series facts 

Schedule

First T20I: North Sydney Oval, Sydney, 7.15pm AEDT October 18

 

Second T20I: North Sydney Oval, Sydney, 7.15pm AEDT October 20

 

Third T20I: North Sydney Oval, Thursday, 7.15pm AEDT October 22

How to watch or listen in Australia: Channel 7, 7plus, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, ABC radio

Live scores: Match Centre

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

Tickets: Ticketek 

The squads

Australia: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

In great news for Australia, captain Sophie Molineux and left-arm quick Lucy Hamilton are fit to return after they missed the ODIs against Bangladesh with hip and quad niggles respectively.

The Aussies named a near-identical squad to the group that lifted the T20 World Cup at Lord's in July, with Grace Harris the only member to miss out. 

They'll also be sweating on the fitness of Phoebe Litchfield, after the left-handed batter missed the final one-dayer against Bangladesh with a low-grade hip muscle strain.  

New Zealand:Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

World-Cup winning off-spinner Eden Carson will return from a lengthy injury lay-off as the White Ferns enter a new era.

Carson, who underwent elbow surgery last December, is one of four inclusions to the squad that failed to make the knockout stages of the most recent T20 World Cup in England earlier this year, alongside wicketkeeper-batter Bella James and fast bowlers Molly Penfold and Hannah Rowe.

Wicketkeeper-batter Izzy Gaze was unavailable for selection after undergoing surgery on a thumb injury, with Polly Inglis to take the gloves in her absence.

Also missing from the White Ferns' most recent T20I squad are retired legends Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu, who all called time on their international careers at the conclusion of the World Cup.

Dean Brownlie, who has been the White Ferns' batting coach for almost four years, will meanwhile step in as interim head coach for the tour. New Zealand Cricket parted ways with Ben Sawyer, a former Australia assistant, last month.

The Rose Bowl

When Australia and New Zealand go head-to-head from Sunday, a familiar piece of silverware will be up for grabs.

The trans-Tasman rivals are set to play for the coveted Rose Bowl trophy every time they meet in bilateral women's series, starting with this month's three-game series at North Sydney Oval.

Since 1985, Australia and New Zealand have played for the trophy in one-day international series, with the Aussies holding the Rose Bowl since February 2000.

It means the Rose Bowl will be up for grabs twice this summer, with New Zealand to return to Australian shores in March for three ODIs in Canberra and Melbourne.

Find out all about the new Rose Bowl format, and the trophy's history, here:

Form Guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, NR: no result

Australia: W W W W W W W W W W   

Australia stormed through the T20 World Cup undefeated to claim their seventh title, in one of their most dominant campaigns. Prior to that, they swept the West Indies in St Vincent in March.

New Zealand: L W W L L L W L W W

New Zealand had a disappointing run looking to defend their T20 World Cup crown in England, missing out on the semi-finals despite being favoured to advance in what was considered the weaker of the two groups, thanks to defeats to West Indies, Sri Lanka and England in the round stage.

Last time they met

Australia and New Zealand last met in the shortest format in early 2025, when the Aussies headed across the Tasman for three T20Is.

Led by Tahlia McGrath in the absence of then-skipper of Alyssa Healy, it was a comprehensive series win for Australia, who took out the first two games by margins of eight wickets and 82 runs. The White Ferns came close in the finale, falling eight runs short of Australia's 4-180.

Local knowledge

How else can I follow along?

Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app will have live scores for every match to go with reports and interviews from our reporters throughout the series.

Make sure you're following all the @auswomencricket and @cricketcomau social channels for extra interviews and behind-the-scenes action.

In exciting news, The Scoop Cricket Podcast has returned to eardrums all around the country for another season. 

Esteemed broadcaster Rana Hussain and star spinner Molly Strano are co-hosting the revamped show, which will run throughout the 2026-27 summer covering both WBBL and international cricket. 

Remember to hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. The show is also on the cricket.com.au YouTube channel. 

The forecast

It's looking positive. There's expected to be some rain around Sydney on Sunday, which will hopefully clear before the match begins in the evening, with temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius tipped. It will hopefully warm up from there, with Tuesday and Thursday currently looking drier with temperatures in the mid-20s.

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Sunday, October 18

Second T20I: Tuesday, October 20

Third T20I: Thursday, October 22

* All matches played at North Sydney Oval starting at 7:15pm AEDT

Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

All women's international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel