ODI series facts 

Schedule

First ODI: December 19: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

 

Second ODI: December 21: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

 

Third ODI: December 23: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

How to watch or listen in Australia: Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports 

Live scores: Match Centre

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

Tickets: Cricket New Zealand

The squads

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

Alyssa Healy is back after missing out on the ODI series due to a knee injury, but it remains to be seen whether she will take the gloves in New Zealand, or whether she will feature in all three games.

Georgia Voll had a dream start to her ODI career in Healy’s place, but could still find herself on the outer if the Australia captain, as expected, returns to the top of the order.

Sophie Molineux was a late scratching due to knee soreness and has been replaced by Heather Graham.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold

New Zealand’s hopes of automatic qualification for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup have taken another blow with veteran quick Lea Tahuhu ruled out of the series against Australia.

Tahuhu suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Canterbury Magicians in a domestic game last month.

The White Ferns have given top-order batter Bella James her maiden call-up to replace Georgia Plimmer, after the opener sustained a bone stress reaction in her left hip in India last month, ruling her out of cricket until next year.

James, who is likely to open for the Kiwis, was described by White Ferns selector Sarah Tsukigawa as a powerful batter with the ability to “hit 360 degrees around the ground”.

Form Guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, T: Tie   

Australia: WWWWWWWLWW

Australia just wrapped up a thumping 3-0 ODI series win over India, where the hosts were dominant across both games in Brisbane and the series finale in Perth. With the one-day World Cup looming in India next October, the defending champions will be continue honing their 50-over game as their plans progress for that tournament.

Their last defeat was against South Africa at North Sydney Oval in February.

New Zealand: LWLLLLWLLL

New Zealand travelled to India for an ODI series that started just four days after the White Ferns lifted the T20 World Cup trophy. Unsurprisingly, the Kiwis were a little rusty first up, as India won the first game in Ahmedabad by 59 runs.

New Zealand bounced back in the second game, thrashing India by 76 runs, before Smriti Mandhana hit a century to lead India to a six-wicket victory in the final game, sealing a 2-1 series win.

Last time they met

It has been a long time between bilateral ODI series, and the last time the trans-Tasman rivals met in a one-dayer was during the round-robin phase of the 2022 World Cup.

That game was also played at the Basin Reserve, and it was a lop-sided affair: Australia piled on 8-269 thanks to Ellyse Perry’s 68 and Ashleigh Gardner’s blazing 48 off 18 balls, before Darcie Brown bagged three wickets as New Zealand were rolled for 128, with now-retired Amy Satterthwaite top scoring with 44.   

The last ODI series between the teams was in April 2021, where Australia secured a 3-0 series sweep at Bay Oval to keep their decades-long grip on the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl

Speaking of the Rose Bowl, Australia and New Zealand will be playing for the coveted piece of silverware across this three-game series. It was established in 1985, and New Zealand last held the Rose Bowl in 1999, with Australia wrangling the trophy back one year later and keeping a firm stranglehold on it ever since. 

Head-to-head in ODIs

Overall: Australia 100, New Zealand 31

 

In New Zealand: Australia 42, New Zealand 17

 

Most runs: Belinda Clark (2272), Karen Rolton (2038), Debbie Hockley (1664), Amy Satterthwaite (1475), Alex Blackwell (1211)

 

Most wickets: Cathryn Fitzpatrick (79), Lisa Sthalekar (58), Shelley Nitschke (46), Karen Rolton (43), Ellyse Perry (42)

Local Knowledge

The forecast

You can’t beat Wellington on a good day, but at the moment, it does not look as though the New Zealand capital will be serving many of those up for this whirlwind series.

The Aussies were welcomed by a dash of winter, with a top of 13 degrees Celsius for their first training session on Tuesday. Occasional rain, a top of 17 and fresh southerlies (and you can count on them being fresh) are tipped for Thursday’s series opener. 

Showers, clearing and becoming fine with a top of 20 is the forecast for Saturday’s second game, and a fine day with a top of 20 is the current outlook for Monday’s finale. 

The ICC ODI Championship

ICC Women’s Championship points will be on offer in the three-match ODI series. Running every four years, the 10-team Championship determines which five sides, alongside hosts India, will gain automatic qualification for the 2025 World Cup.

The remaining four will need to head to the ICC’s qualifying tournament to try and win a spot in the eight-team event.

Running across each ODI World Cup cycle, each of the 10 teams play eight three-game ODI series – four at home and four away – meeting all bar one of the other Championship sides.

With this edition reaching its climax, Australia have already secured qualification for the tournament with six games remaining, as have England and South Africa.

However, there is another piece of silverware at stake. Australia won both previous editions of the Championship, but their streak has been under threat, with India also in a strong position in this edition.

Australia’s 3-0 win over Harmanpreet Kaur’s team has helped extend their lead on top of the table, and they have won 16 of 21 ODIs in this cycle. They lost two one-dayers to England during the Ashes, another to South Africa, and had washouts against Ireland and West Indies.

A 2-1 series win would be enough to seal top spot and the trophy.

The stakes are higher for New Zealand, who sit sixth on the table with nine wins from 21 games. 

They have Bangladesh breathing down their necks, and unless they can upset Australia, are facing the very real prospect of having to qualify for the World Cup the hard way.

Commbank tour of New Zealand

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

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold

First ODI: December 19: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

Second ODI: December 21: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

Third ODI: December 23: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 9am AEDT

The rivalry resumes with a blockbuster series in Australia from Jan 12 – Feb 2. Learn about the remarkable 90-year history at the Women’s Ashes Hub