All You Need To Know for the NZ v AUS T20 Series

When does it start?

The five-match T20 series between Australia and New Zealand begins on Monday evening, with the first game at Christchurch's Hagley Park to start at 5.10pm AEDT (7.10pm local time).

The series then moves to Dunedin before heading to the north island for the final three games in Wellington, Auckland and Mount Maunganui.

Schedule

1st T20: Feb 22, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 5.10pm AEDT

2nd T20: Feb 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin, 12noon AEDT

3rd T20: Mar 3, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 5pm AEDT

4th T20: Mar 5, Eden Park, Auckland, 5pm AEDT

5th T20: Mar 7, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

How can I watch?

All matches will be broadcast live in Australia on Fox Cricket and also live streamed on Kayo Sports.

There will also be live scores, match highlights and all the latest news on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

Team news

Australia are without a handful of their big names, including the likes of Mitch Starc, David Warner, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith, who were due to be in South Africa for a Test series that has since been postponed.

But the Aussies will still put out a strong line-up led by skipper Aaron Finch, who is set to be joined in the top order by uncapped KFC BBL star Josh Philippe, wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, the dynamic Glenn Maxwell and allrounder Marcus Stoinis.

Mitch Marsh, Ashton Turner and Ben McDermott are expected to battle it out for the No.6 spot, a role Australia has struggled to bed down in recent years.

Spin duo Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa are also set to feature alongside the two Richardsons, Jhye and Kane, with pace support from Riley Meredith, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye and Daniel Sams.

The Black Caps will be at full strength, led by familiar names like skipper Kane Williamson, pace duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee as well as dashing opener Martin Guptill, who has been passed fit to play the series opener.

And while they might not have played against Australia before, the likes of Devon Conway and Kyle Jamieson (more on him below) will be worth keeping an eye out for.

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee

The rankings

Having taken the top ranking a year ago, Australia have dropped to second behind England but can take top spot back if they manage a 5-0 series sweep over the Black Caps.

The Kiwis are ranked No.6 in the world, but don’t let that fool you; they have lost just one of their six T20s at home this summer and have some of the best players in the world at their disposal.

And rankings will count for little at this year's T20 World Cup in India, with this series to provide another crucial lead-in for a tournament neither country has won before.

Players to watch

After a nightmare BBL campaign and having been overlooked at this week’s IPL auction, Australia's skipper Aaron Finch will be desperate to return to his best form in this series.

Despite his recent run of low scores, the right-hander has been part of, statistically, the world's best T20 top order in the past two years and since the start of last summer, he's scored at least 30 in 10 out of 14 innings, a remarkably consistent run given his high-risk style of play.

With a World Cup on the horizon, he'll be keen to dismiss any talk about his spot in the side after a similar run of outs leading up to the last T20 World Cup in 2016 (which saw him dropped as captain) and the ODI tournament two years ago.

A lot of Australian fans wouldn't have heard much of Kiwi keeper-batter Tim Seifert given he's played just twice against the Aussies before, but he's quickly developed into one of the most dangerous batters in the world.

The right-hander has enjoyed a golden summer so far and has jumped to ninth spot in the T20 batting rankings, and his ability to hit the ball all around the ground makes him a huge threat in a top order that also includes Guptill and Williamson.

Young guns

It's long been a matter of when, not if, Josh Philippe would make his international debut, and the young Western Australian is set to get his chance in this series.

After two dominant BBL campaigns in a row – and two title wins – Philippe's debut is one of the most anticipated in recent years, with astute judges expecting a long international career ahead for the 23-year-old.

Towering paceman Kyle Jamieson might not exactly be a 'young' gun at 26 years old, but he's made a remarkable impact despite only making his international debut a little more than a year ago.

Having dominated his six Tests with 36 wickets at an average of 13, the right-armer this week stole headlines in the T20 world by attracting a bid of A$2.6m in the IPL auction to join the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell at the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

More than 200cm tall, Jamieson stands out in more ways than one and the Australians will have to be on high alert in his first taste of Trans-Tasman cricket.

Qantas T20I tour of New Zealand 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, *Martin Guptill (pending fitness test), Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. *Finn Allen (on stand-by for Guptill)

1st T20: February 22, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 5.10pm AEDT

2nd T20: February 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin, 12noon AEDT

3rd T20: March 03, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 5pm AEDT

4th T20: March 05, Eden Park, Auckland, 5pm AEDT

5th T20: March 07, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

All matches will be shown live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo