New Zealand vs Australia – Men's Second T20 Match Live Coverage
Overview
Welcome cricket lovers! Join us for game two of the live updates of the men’s T20 international clash for the Chappell-Hadlee series. Australia are ahead the series one-nil after beating the hosts by six wickets in the opener on the previous match day.
That victory was built on the broad shoulders of captain Mitchell Marsh, who thundered 85 from 43 deliveries with nine fours and 5 maximums at a scoring rate of nearly 200.
The Black Caps were dominated with the ball but can take heart from their performance with the bat. Despite losing three early wickets in the initial overs, they bounced back to reach what seemed a competitive 181, spearheaded by Tim Robinson’s first T20I hundred.
Weather Conditions
The latest weather report…
Unfortunately, it’s a wet day at Bay Oval and the light rain, which stopped an earlier, has started again. While the radar shows brighter skies approaching, for now the toss and announcement of the two XIs for today will be postponed.
However, I’m informed the venue has a drainage system that handles rain effectively, so fingers crossed we get some cricket action shortly.
Team News
These are the squads for today…
NEW ZEALAND
Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), 2 Devon Conway, Tim Robinson, 4 Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell (captain), 7 Jimmy Neesham, 8 Matt Henry, Ben Sears, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Jacob Duffy
An altered squad for the Black Caps with allrounder Jimmy Neesham joining the side, fast bowler Ben Sears in, and 32-year-old leg-break specialist Ish Sodhi also included.
AUSTRALIAN SIDE
1 Travis Head, 2 Mitchell Marsh (capt), Matt Short, 4 Tim David, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Marcus Stoinis, 7 Mitch Owen, 8 Xavier Bartlett, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
One change for the Aussies with pace bowler Sean Abbott replacing Ben Dwarshuis.
Coin Toss
Coin toss: New Zealand won the toss and will bowl first
The New Zealand captain called right and elects to have a bowl at the Australian team. The Australian skipper likely would’ve done the same so an early win for the home side. However, the Black Caps will need to begin more strongly than they did in game one where the visitors raced to 67 runs in five overs before the New Zealand took their first wicket.
Game Setup
Positive updates, folks: the covers are off at Bay Oval and we have official word that today’s fixture will go ahead as an 18-over contest.
Key Performers
Tim Robinson’s first T20I century in the opening match was a spectacular effort in a defeat. The Black Caps were 6-3 in the second over, with the Australian paceman removing Tim Seifert in the opening over and Ben Dwarshuis striking twice in two balls to send two top-order batsmen back to the sheds before Robinson swaggered out. In his 13th T20 international, the tousle-haired youngster made an not out 106 off 66 balls.
Robinson hit 6 boundaries and 5 sixes along the way and ended his blitzkrieg in style, with a boundary and a maximum from the last two deliveries!
Injury Updates
There’s a few fans leaving at the stadium so we expect a coin toss and today’s final XIs for you shortly. However, there are a heap of players absent across the board through fitness issues, Test commitments, family reasons or freak accidents.
Most unusually, both teams lost their star allrounders on the day before the series in strange practice accidents. On Tuesday, Black Caps gun Rachin Ravindra hit an signboard during a fielding practice and suffered a serious cut to his face that needed stitching and ruled him out for the entire series.
That very day, Aussie veteran Glenn Maxwell had one of his meaty wrists broken while bowling in the nets due to hard-hitting colleague Mitchell Owen. It means Maxwell is a absent for this T20 series and may be in doubt for the domestic season too.
Previous Match Recap
While the teams complete their final warm-ups at the venue, we might take a look back at Game One. The two sides arrived in hot form, with Australia on a tear of 15 wins from their last 17 T20s and New Zealand having won nine of their last 11 in the current year.
Women’s World Cup Connection
Of course this T20 match is also a appetizing preview for the Women’s ODI World Cup being held in India. Australia are aiming to win a seventh 50-over title, and be the first female side to win back-to-back championships since the late 80s. They began their tournament with a victory over New Zealand and tonight face the Lankan team.
Proud Muruwari woman Ashleigh Gardner notched the first century of the competition, rescuing Australia from a precarious position with a calm 115 off 83 balls that helped her team to reach 326 runs in 49.3 overs. The Aussies went on to defeat the New Zealand by 89 runs.
