NZ v Aus 1st ODI Preview: Eagerly anticipated Chappell-Hadlee Trophy begins at Eden Park

Plenty of memorable matches have been played under the Chappell-Hadlee name and one can expect another exciting series in New Zealand. The Australian tour begins in Auckland where the drop-in pitch is usually good for batting at Eden Park. There could be some swing in the air and the forecast is for a sunny day and a top temperature of 27C.

New Zealand:

Brendon McCullum is now into the final month of his international career, and it is possible that he could finish by lifting both the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and the Trans-Tasman Trophy as captain. His first task will be to produce runs at the top of the order, and having missed the past month with a back injury his return in the final ODI against Pakistan did not exactly go to plan. New Zealand will need to be on top of their game to beat the Aussies who are playing some incredible ODI cricket at the moment.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi has been added to the squad for this first match in Auckland, after the New Zealanders saw how much turn Pakistan’s part-timer Azhar Ali extracted from the Eden Park surface on Sunday. New Zealand has won their past four bilateral ODI series at home against any opposition and this should give the team confidence to take on the world champions.

Australia:

Australia confirmed their XI on match eve, with Shaun Marsh named to open the batting with David Warner in the absence of the injured Aaron Finch. That meant there was no place for Khawaja, who was added to the squad to cover for Finch while fast bowler Scott Boland and leg-spinner Adam Zampa were the bowlers who missed out. Australia played consistently well in the ODI series against India and will look to continue their form.

Khawaja is Australia’s most in-form batsman but the selectors have gone with Shaun Marsh for the first match. Marsh scored half-centuries in two of his three ODI innings against India last month, which has earned him the first chance in New Zealand, but Khawaja has produced such big runs in the past few months that one failure from Marsh might be enough for the selectors to make the change for the second game. Such competition shows how strong the Aussies are in the batting department. The Kiwi bowlers will have to bowl tight lines to keep the visitors quiet.

Form guide: (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: WWWLW

Australia: LWWWW

New Zealand (Probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt.), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner/Ish Sodhi, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult.

Australia: 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith (capt.), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 John Hastings, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Stats:

1. New Zealand currently holds the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after winning the World Cup group match in Auckland last year; it was not up for grabs in the World Cup final.

2. Only two Australians in the current squad – David Warner and Shaun Marsh  have experience in Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series.