Ultimate Guide: Australia v New Zealand T20I series

T20 series facts 

Who: Australia v New Zealand

What: Three-match T20I series

When and where:

First T20: September19, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Second T20: September 22, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Third T20: September 24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 7.10pm

How to watch or listen in Australia: The Seven Network, 7plus, Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and ABC radio.

Tickets: Buy your tickets HERE!

Live scores: Match Centre 

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

The squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck

Darcie Brown has recovered from a foot injury to be named in Australia's squad for next month's T20 World Cup, but there is no room for in-form spinner Jess Jonassen.

Brown was originally named for the March tour of Bangladesh before pulling out at the last minute with a foot injury, but the 21-year-old has now recovered and is set to form an exciting express duo with Tayla Vlaeminck.

Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux had a setback during the off-season when she was forced to pull out of The Hundred having suffered an acute rib fracture after being struck by a ball while batting, but has recovered, as has Grace Harris, who also missed the English 100-ball competition due to a calf injury.

Heather Graham has been included as cover, joining the 15 who will travel to Dubai for the T20 World Cup.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu 

Pace bowler Rosemary Mair has returned to the White Ferns’ squad following a back injury sustained against England early in the year, which ruled her out of the White Ferns’ return tour of the UK in July.

The squad is the same group of 15 that will travel onwards to Dubai, where Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates will play in their ninth consecutive T20 World Cup, meanwhile, joining an elite group to have featured in every tournament to date.

Off-spinner Leigh Kasperek will bolster the spin attack, playing in her fourth T20 World Cup alongside fellow spinners Melie Kerr, Fran Jonas and Eden Carson.

The bigger picture

Australia will begin their bid for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Women’s T20 World Cup title next month in Dubai.

Adding further interest is the fact Australia and New Zealand are both in Group A at the World Cup and will meet in Sharjah on October 8 (1am October 9 AEDT).

Alyssa Healy’s team remain in top spot on the ICC’s T20I rankings but have been closely challenged by England, India and South Africa over the past 12 months and they will want to fine-tune their preparations against New Zealand.

New Zealand meanwhile have not made the semi-finals of a T20 World Cup since 2016 and will be desperate to turn that record around.

On that…

Recent form

Past 10 T20 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result

Australia: WWWWLWWWLW

Australia have not played an international series since their tour of Bangladesh in March, where they cruised to a 3-0 victory in the T20I leg.

The nationally contracted players have had several camps in Brisbane throughout the winter to try and keep the rust away, while the majority of the squad was also in action in The Hundred last month. Prior to the tour of Bangladesh, Australia claimed a 2-1 T20I series win over South Africa in February.

New Zealand: LLLLLLLWLL

It is a very different story for New Zealand, who are on the brink of an unwanted piece of history having lost their last seven T20Is, equalling their previous longest losing streak from 2018.

Those defeats have included their recent 0-5 series whitewash in England in July, and a 1-4 T20I series defeat to the same opposition at home in March.

Since the start of 2023, New Zealand have won just seven of 23 T20Is, including losing a series to Pakistan for the first time across that period.

Last time they met

The last time Australia played New Zealand was in Paarl in their opening game of the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa.

There, the defending champions romped to a crushing 97-run win set up by a half-century to Alyssa Healy that saw her team to 9-173. Ashleigh Gardner then claimed 5-12 as the White Ferns were bowled out for 76.

Australia and New Zealand have not met in a bilateral T20I series since March 2021. That series finished drawn 1-1 after the series decider in Auckland was washed out.

Local knowledge

Neither Australia nor New Zealand have previously played a T20I in Mackay, but the Aussies did host India in an ODI series at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in 2021, winning 2-1.

The ground was, for a period, the host of annual WBBL matches, so those involved with the Brisbane Heat in particular – including White Ferns star Amelia Kerr – will have better knowledge of the conditions.

Meanwhile Australia have previously played nine T20Is at Allan Border Field, with eight of those against New Zealand.

The record stands 5-2 in Australia’s favour, while the first match between the rivals in 2006 was a tie (in the days before Super Overs).

The forecast

Beautiful one day, perfect the next is Queensland’s motto and it looks as though Mackay will deliver, with tops of 24 and 28 degrees Celsius forecast for Thursday and Sunday.

Brisbane is currently expected to be 26 and partially sunny for Tuesday’s series finale.

Head-to-head in T20Is

Overall: Australia 25 wins, New Zealand 21 (1 tie, 1 no result)

At AB Field: Australia 5 wins, New Zealand 2 (1 tie)

Most runs: Suzie Bates (969), Amy Satterthwaite (698), Meg Lanning (663), Alex Blackwell (526), Alyssa Healy (521)

Most wickets: Ellyse Perry (34), Lisa Sthalekar (34), Megan Schutt (30), Sophie Devine (29), Suzie Bates (24)

CommBank T20I Series v New Zealand   

First T20: September19, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Second T20: September 22, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Third T20: September 24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 7.10pm