NZ win toss, decide to bat first against Australia in 1st T20I

WELLINGTON: Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first against Mitchell Marsh's Australia in the 1st T20I at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday. Star Aussie bowling Allrounder Glenn Maxwell just needs two more overhead boundaries to equal the feat for most sixes for Australia in the 20-over matches.

After the third and final T20I game of the three-match series between West Indies and Australia, in which the hosts suffered a 37-run defeat, Warner confirmed that the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA will be his last assignment in international cricket. Meanwhile, the ongoing T20I series against the Kiwis will be Warner's last tour for the Aussies. While speaking at the toss, Kiwi skipper Santner hoped to get runs on the board. He also confirmed that Ben Sears and Will Young will not be available for the 1st T20I game against Australia.

"Looks like a very good surface to be fair. Hopefully get some runs on the board and hopefully, it can swing around a bit later. We found in the last series if we get runs on the board we back ourselves to defend. Ben Sears and Will Young miss out today," Santner was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying. On the other hand, Aussie skipper Marsh said that they were going to bowl first if they would have won the toss. He hoped to hold the Kiwis to a low total. "We were going to bowl first. Happy to do that. Hopefully, we can keep them to a low total. Cummins and Starc have bowled a lot but haven't played much T20I cricket. But they're so experienced and they'll do a job for us tonight. The boys have been batting well. Quite a settled line-up. Guys are in great form. I think it's going to be a great series. Two really good teams," Marsh said. Australia Playing XI: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (C), Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (Wk), Tim David, Matthew Short, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood. New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (Wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner (C), Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson.