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A look at Australia's T20 series against New Zealand, starting on Monday in Christchurch.
HOW AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND SHAPE UP FOR THEIR T20 SERIES
AUSTRALIA
Australian cricket moves on from its humbling by India with this five-match series, leaving Test stalwarts - including coach Justin Langer - at home. The only Test player to back up for the trans-Tasman showdown is Matthew Wade, who will stand behind the stumps in New Zealand. With a focus on October's T20 World Cup in India, Australia will rotate players against the Black Caps while pledging to go for the win. BBL player of the year Josh Philippe and rebuilt paceman Jhye Richardson are in line for a big series.
* SQUAD
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa
* RECENT T20 SERIES
2-1 loss to India (H), 2-1 loss to England (A), 2-1 win over South Africa (A)
NEW ZEALAND
The high-flying Black Caps have qualified for the World Test Championship final and were beaten finalists in the 2019 ODI World Cup, but haven't quite made the same strides in the shortest format. Their world ranking of six belies the talent on show this series, including captain Kane Williamson, dasher Devon Conway and newly-minted IPL millionaire Kyle Jamieson. Australia have the best record of any visiting side to New Zealand: making Gary Stead's side all the more hungry for a series win.
* SQUAD
Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
* RECENT T20 SERIES
2-1 win over Pakistan (H), 2-0 win over West Indies (H), 5-0 loss to India (H)
FIXTURES - all times AEDT
February 22 - 5pm - Hagley Oval, Christchurch
February 25 - midday - University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
March 3 - 5pm - Sky Stadium, Wellington
March 5 - 5pm - Eden Park, Auckland
March 7 - midday - Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
