Australia v Black Caps: All you need to know

The details: Australia and New Zealand play their one-day series for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, currently held by Australia. This is a three-match series played across seven days (Jan 30, Feb 2, Feb 5) in Auckland, Napier and Hamilton respectively. Monday's series opener at Eden Park kicks off at 11am local time (9am AEDT), Thursday's match at McLean Park is a day-night contest starting from 2pm local (12pm AEDT) and Sunday's game is another day match, starting at 11am local (9am AEDT).

The last time they met: Australia hosted New Zealand in early December and easily accounted for the tourists, running out 3-0 winners to regain the Chappell-Hadlee trophy after a 2-1 defeat in New Zealand last February. David Warner was Player of the Series with a pair of hundreds, while Steve Smith made a career-best 164 on his home patch in Sydney. Between them, Warner (two) and Smith won all three Player-of-the-Match awards in the series.

The absences: That'd be Warner and Smith. A huge loss for Australia as the leadership duo set their sights on the upcoming Test series against India. Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh are also missing from the home side's usual suspects. For the hosts, former Australia 'keeper-batsman and now experienced Black Cap Luke Ronchi is missing with an adductor injury, meaning opening batsman Tom Latham will take the gloves.

The (possible) line-ups

Australia: Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (c), James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

The stat: Much like Australia, New Zealand are a much more fearsome foe on home soil: they've won 20 of their past 22 completed matches in their own backyard. 

The new skipper: What a summer it's been for Matthew Wade. The Victoria captain returned to the Test side and leads Australia tomorrow as the country's 24th ODI captain. "I was at the airport (on Friday) and Darren (Lehmann, coach) came up to me and put Trevor (Hohns, head selector) on the phone, and he let me know I was going to captain," Wade said. "I feel like I lead on the ground when Smithy and Warner are around, but I had no idea that I was next (in line). But it's exciting, I'm really honoured and it's a privilege to captain Australia, so I'm looking forward to it. I've been around the team now for a couple of years straight so I know how it all works, I know how Darren likes to go about it, so it's probably more exciting than anything."

The new Aussie faces: Peter Handscomb will be familiar to fans now courtesy of his stunning introduction to Test cricket, and in the absence of Smith particularly, he looks set to be an important figure in Australia's middle order – despite just appearing three times for the ODI team. Marcus Stoinis was called up for an injured Mitch Marsh during the Pakistan series and could well earn a second ODI cap in the series opener. Monster quick Billy Stanlake debuted against the Pakistanis, playing twice, but may have to bide his time behind the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in this series. Finally, rookie tourist Sam Heazlett – another Queenslander and the youngest member of the group at 21 – could debut in Australia's middle-order at some point over the next week. 

Quick Single: Meet Sam Heazlett, the latest Aussie bolter

The danger men: Starc spoke of the key batsmen he is targeting ahead of the series opener, with dangermen Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson top of his hit-list.

Additionally, Trent Boult looms as a major threat for the Aussies with a swinging white ball in hand, particularly in Auckland where conditions are expected to suit. By the same token, Starc is expected to be a serious player in this series; the lethal left-armer has only played once in New Zealand but he took 6-28 at Eden Park that day and is certainly capable of a repeat performance. Among Australia's batsmen, Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch each finished the BBL strongly, and both top-order men will be desperate to push their claims as a permanent partner to Warner ahead of June's ICC Champions Trophy where they face a first-up contest with – you guessed it – the Black Caps.

The game-changers: Glenn Maxwell returned to Australia’s ODI side against Pakistan and immediately impressed, making a composed 60 to prop up Australia after they’d fallen to 5-78 in the series opener. He followed it up with a lightning 78 in Sydney and is one who, once he gets his eye in, could well enjoy the short boundaries presented to him in New Zealand. For the Black Caps, Colin Munro is fresh from a breathtaking 52-ball hundred and adds some considerable firepower coming in at No.6. Unorthodox and unpredictable, the 29-year-old leftie also smashed the second-fastest T20I half-century in history – from 14 balls – at Eden Park a year ago.

How to follow: Live coverage of the series will be screened on Fox Sports for Australian subscribers of the pay TV service. There is no free-to-air broadcast or streaming service. Live scoring will be provided through the cricket.com.au Live Match Centre online or via the CA Live app and full highlights and reports will be available on the website and app soon after they happen. A cricket.com.au editorial team is on the ground in New Zealand bringing you closer to the side than ever before with regular news, highlights and special guest bloggers.

The social media: Follow @cricketaus on Twitter for regular updates and highlights, like cricket.com.au and the official Australian Cricket Team pages on Facebook, follow @cricketcomau on Instagram for the very best images and you absolutely must add @cricket.com.au on Snapchat for exclusive behind-the-scenes access.

The tip: This is going to be tight. New Zealand were too good on their home patch last year and this time around Australia are missing their two best batsmen. On the flipside however, Starc didn't feature in that series 12 months back, and the tourists have a group of high-quality batsmen desperate to cement their positions in the team ahead of not only the Champions Trophy but – longer term – the 2019 World Cup. So it's 2-1 Australia, with a couple of thrillers on the horizon.