Australia will want to continue their dominance against these opponents © Getty Images
New Zealand and Australia lock horns in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Auckland on Wednesday. There are two more ODIs lined-up after this match that will be followed by the red ball game, two Tests at Wellington and Christchurch respectively. While the Australian side features the likes of Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Siddle and other limited-overs specialists, New Zealand are no less with the names of Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill and other players who have done well on the home soil across formats recently. Both Australia and New Zealand will be led by their regular skippers, Smith and McCullum respectively. LIVE SCORECARD: New Zealand vs Australia 2015-16, 1st ODI at Auckland
Catch the live streaming for Indian viewers of the first ODI between New Zealand and Australia at Wellington on eversport.tv/cricket.
Australia like always have revealed their playing Xi on the eve of the first ODI. They have confirmed that Usman Khawaja will have to sit out and Shaun Marsh will open batting with Warner in the absence of injured Aaron Finch. The fast bowler Scott Boland and legspinner Adam Zampa were the bowlers who missed out. Marsh’s two fifties from his three ODI innings against India recently sealed the spot for him against New Zealand ahead of the young Khawaja. This is a great chance for Marsh to return as a regular ODI member in the Australian side by delivering with the bat in the next three ODIs.
Meanwhile, it is McCullum’s final ODI series of his career. He will bring curtains down in his international career at the end of the Test series against the same opponents. He will want to end on a high, especially when he’ll be playing his final innings in front of his home crowd.