Head back from broken hand for crucial Cup clash

Travis Head will play his first match since breaking his hand six weeks ago in Australia's crucial contest against fellow World Cup contenders New Zealand in Dharamsala.

Head will immediately be thrown into the action after Black Caps skipper Tom Latham inserted his opponents after winning the toss at the picture-perfect HPCA Stadium. 

The Aussies have plumped for skill over power in their top order, retaining Marnus Labuschagne and leaving out allrounders Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis.

Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c/wk), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

The Dharamsala playing surface has been one of the more pace friendly at this tournament due to the cooler climate of the hill city in India's mountainous north.

That it is a day game starting at 10.30am local time (4.30pm AEDT) means night-time dew that often speeds up the pitch will not be a factor.

Labuschagne's craftiness with the bat, as opposed to Stoinis' back-end power, was therefore deemed more important.

Stoinis also has a lingering calf niggle, which saw Green play over him in their 309-run win over the Netherlands on Wednesday, though he has not appeared inhibited with either bat or ball at training in recent days.

Mitch Marsh's swing bowling could also be a more valuable asset than it would otherwise be in India, especially if there is any nip in the green-tinged wicket.

Head meanwhile will resume his opening partnership with David Warner, knocking Mitch Marsh down to No.3 and Steve Smith to No.4.

New Zealand have left out Mark Chapman due to a calf injury, recalling allrounder Jimmy Neesham.

The match between the third and fourth placed sides on the standings has significant ramifications on the competition.

An Australian win could essentially close off the top four and confirm the semi-finalists with two weeks still to play in the tournament, presuming there are no major upsets.

The net run-rate gap between the top four sides and the rest would also be a major barrier to any of the bottom six teams leaping above them. As it stands, the top four sides all have positive net run-rates while the remaining teams are in the negatives.

If the Kiwis prevail though it would cut the Aussies adrift from India, South Africa and the Black Caps, leaving Cummins' men in a scrap with the likes of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan for the last semi-final position.

Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures

October 8: Lost to India by six wickets

October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs

October 16: Defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets

October 20: Defeated Pakistan by 62 runs

October 25: Defeated Netherlands by 309 runs

TODAY: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT

November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

2023 World Cup standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 India Men IND	9	9	0	0	0	2.57	0	18
2 South Africa Men SA	9	7	2	0	0	1.261	0	14
3 Australia Men AUS	9	7	2	0	0	0.841	0	14
4 New Zealand Men NZ	9	5	4	0	0	0.743	0	10
5 Pakistan Men PAK	9	4	5	0	0	-0.199	0	8
6 Afghanistan Men AFG	9	4	5	0	0	-0.336	0	8
7 England Men ENG	9	3	6	0	0	-0.572	0	6
8 Bangladesh Men BAN	9	2	7	0	0	-1.087	0	4
9 Sri Lanka Men SL	9	2	7	0	0	-1.419	0	4
10 Netherlands Men NED	9	2	7	0	0	-1.825	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points