The Chappell-Hadlee tournament returns. Australia and New Zealand had a memorable face off when they were one of the last teams to play international cricket before the pandemic hit. They started the journey of closed doors cricket but did not play too many ODIs from that day on. Now they are back, facing each other.

Australia is coming in off a series win, that will be rather bitter for them. They beat Zimbabwe, but lost the last ODI, which was a dead rubber, to give Zimbabwe a historical victory. The loss raises some concerns. The middle-order stability and Australia’s ability against the moving ball are issues that could be exploited against better bowling attacks.

New Zealand are coming in after winning their first ODI series in the Caribbean. The team looks decent despite Kane Williamson missing games to injury every now and then. A factor to contend with though is the loss of Colin De Grandhomme. His aggressive batting and medium-pace was always tough to tackle and that could leave a hole in the line-up.

AUS vs NZ Head to Head

Played- 138 | Australia- 92 | New Zealand- 39 | No Result- 7

AUS vs NZ Match Details

Date: 6th September 2022

Time: 9:50 AM IST

Venue: Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns

AUS vs NZ Weather Report

The weather is pretty good and should hold well through the AUS vs NZ fixture.

AUS vs NZ Pitch Report

The track is fresh and may offer some early movement with the grass covering around. Batting second will be a better option.

AUS vs NZ Predicted Playing XI

Australia Playing XI

Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa. Josh Hazlewood

New Zealand Playing XI

Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson

AUS vs NZ Key Players

Lockie Ferguson

Consistent niggles and small injuries have kept Lockie Ferguson in and out of the line-up over the past few months. He is now back and fully fit. With a T20 World Cup and some exciting fixtures ahead, Ferguson has his tails up and is eager to come out and bowl as fast as he can, to blow his oppositions away.

Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch continues to find it tough to score runs. His low scores were not noticed too much in the Zimbabwe series, but before they start standing out Finch will want to find some runs. He is still a quality batter, but with runs not coming and his game deteriorating against the moving ball, Finch has a lot to prove.

See Also: England vs India 2nd ODI Match Prediction – Cricket Winner

AUS vs NZ Match Tips

NZ are coming in with a lot more stability and consistency in their line-up. However, NZ tend to become a different side when they face Australia. Some of their worst performances comes against the nation and with previous encounters likely to be on mind, Australia has a strong chance despite recent results.

Match Prediction: AUS Will Win the Match