MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl in the opening Twenty20 international against hosts New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
Both teams had a key player ruled out of the series in training incidents on Tuesday.
New Zealand batsman Rachin Ravindra suffered facial lacerations when he collided with a boundary fence during fielding practice.
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell broke his arm when struck by a shot from team-mate Mitchell Owen while bowling in the nets.
Both teams were also forced to name squads weakened by unavailability for the three-match series.
New Zealand’s most notable absentees are injured captain Mitchell Santner and batsmen Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips.
Australia are missing Pat Cummins and playing their first T20 series since the retirement of fellow pace bowler Mitchell Starc from the format.
The first game, which will be played in cold, windy conditions, is the earliest start to a New Zealand home season.
The remaining games are also day-night affairs in Mount Maunganui, on Friday and Saturday.
Teams:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Tim Robinson, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell (captain), Zak Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matt Short, Tim David, Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Umpires: Chris Brown (NZL) and Shaun Haig (NZL)
TV umpire: Wayne Knights (NZL)
Match referee: Prakash Bhatt (IND)
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