New Zealand will be hoping for more from their top three but the middle order, led by Devon Conway, offers considerable depth.
Big picture
Australia have to bounce back quickly in the second game of the series after being played off the pitch at Hagley Oval. It looked good at first when they claimed three wikis within the powerplay, but master 99 Devon Conway built New Zealand for the most part and then claimed four wikis within the field constraints.
The fact that this game, which marks Dunedin ‘s first T20I, is a day game tends to mean less variability in situations as the game plays out though. there is a chance that Tim Southee and Trent Boult will be as good as anyone at finding it.
The Australians refused to use the two weeks of supervised solitude as any excuse for the opening ceremony – they had been able to train to a high standard in that time – but will hopefully match the right match. allowed them to get into gear. The advantage here is that it’s a five-game series that has a chance to kick back.
Jhye Richardson’s return to international cricket was promising and Mitchell Marsh looked in good shape with the bat, but other than that he was a slim pick from Christchurch. New Zealand will be hoping for a batter result from their top three, but the shape of their middle order – led by Conway – means their depth and confidence have been rebuilt.
Form instructions
(last five completed games)
New Zealand WLWWW
Australia LWLLW
In mind
Aaron Finch and Martin Guptill they came into this series with question marks over their form and none of them survived the first of their machines. The two fell in a very similar style, driving catches to some extent, although it was for Finch’s position that the issue was greater as he had hit the ball cleanly. They all have strong T20I records (Finch averages 37.06 and Guptill 31.20 with two centuries respectively) but with others pushing for a chance in the top order, or key players returning, a few runs would come in handy.
Am ball swing Achilles heels have long been a staple of Australian battery orders and while the daytime situation in Dunedin may make it less of a factor it will be interesting to watch how they look. fighting it if there was a movement. The T20s won’t take long to show the mattresses rotation but it may be necessary to keep a little more watch against Southee and Boult before catching up against the rest.
Team news
Mark Chapman and Hamish Bennett were the two members of the team that were not used in the first game, but if there are no niggles, or a desire to rotate, it would be unlikely that they would have to make changes.
New Zealand (possibly) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tim Seifert, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult
Australia joined the allrounder (Daniel Sams) on Monday and may need to consider whether he is worth a quick specialist – perhaps left-arm Jason Behrendorff – instead. Despite the bad batting display changes, it doesn’t look like early in the series.
Australia (probably) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Josh Philippe, 3 Matthew Wade (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Jason Behrendorff
Park and conditions
As this is Oval University’s first T20I there’s no history to go on, but the recent Super Smash suggests it could be at the top. Premier Areas made 223 while in another game Northern Districts hit in 191. A dry but cool day is expected.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
“Of course the production didn’t go on but we did a lot of good stuff, especially early in the bowling machines. With our stick I think it was one of those things, New Zealand bowled very well and the ball was moved and we caught a little guard. “
Daniel Sams
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo