New Kiwi faces find feet in Sydney

New Zealand's gritty win over a Cricket Australia XI in the final-over of their warm-up match at Manly on Thursday will stand them in good stead against the No.1 ranked Australians, wicketkeeper Bernadine Bezuidenhout believes.

The White Ferns were made to work for their five-wicket victory, reaching their target of 150 with five balls to spare against a strong CA XI line-up featuring eight internationals.

With seven overs remaining and with star batters Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite back in the sheds – and with another 64 runs required – it appeared New Zealand could be destined for a surprise first-up defeat.

But a late charge from Bezuidenhout (27no from 14) and vice-captain Maddy Green (36no from 23) got the tourists over the line.

Bezuidenhout believes they'll be better for the challenge, with their middle order put under pressure.

"It's always a good test if the match goes into the last over, so I'm really happy with the girls and I think there's a lot of belief in this team and we proved that today," Bezuidenhout told cricket.com.au.

"(Maddy) and I made sure we spoke a lot … we just went in there with intent and knew what we needed. When you get into that situation, it's pretty much 'see ball, hit ball' so it's pretty simple."

Openers Bates (21) and Devine (21) both made starts, while Satterthwaite looked threatening before falling to off-spinner Molly Strano for a 16-ball 25.

Earlier, the CA XI reached 9-149 from their 20 overs – 24 more than they managed against Australia earlier the same day – and New Zealand's cause wasn't helped when pacer Holly Huddleston was removed from the attack after bowling two beam balls.

But spearhead Lea Tahuhu impressed, threatening with pace and picking up 3-21, while teenage leg-spinner Amelia Kerr (3-15) caused plenty of problems for the CA XI.

"The pitch was a bit tricky, but the girls executed their plans," Bezuidenhout said. "There's always room for improvement but we stuck to our plans and a win is a win, so we'll take it."

The three-match Commonwealth Bank Women's T20I Series will be new captain Satterthwaite's first outing as skipper.

The White Ferns squad contains five very familiar faces for Australian fans in Rebel WBBL stars Devine, Bates, Satterthwaite, Tahuhu and Hayley Jensen.

But they bring with them several new faces including 24-year-old South African-born wicketkeeper Bezuidenhout and allrounder Jess Watkin, who are on their first tours of Australia.

"This is my first time here in Australia, I've always wanted to come," Bezuidenhout said. "I love Sydney, it's great."

Both New Zealand and Australia will have one final chance to go through their paces on Friday, before the T20I series opener gets underway at North Sydney Oval on Saturday at 7.10pm AEST.

CommBank T20 INTLs v NZ 

September 29: First T20I, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

October 1: Second T20I, Allan Border Field, Brisbane

October 5: Third T20I, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Amy Satterthwaite (c), Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin