Star Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner passed a concussion test but will be monitored closely before being cleared to return for the second T20 against New Zealand on Sunday after a scary pregame incident forced her to withdraw from Thursday’s opening match.

Australian captain Alyssa Healy labelled the lead in to the comfortable win “a bit chaotic” after Gardner was hit in the jaw following a collision with teammate Georgia Wareham during a warm-up game in Mackay.

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Gardner, the reigning Belinda Clarke award winner, was forced to watch the game from the sidelines despite passing a concussion test, while Wareham took her place in the side.

Australian coach Shelley Nitschke confirmed Gardner was in concussion protocols and sat out only as a precaution but she will be monitored over the coming days.

“She’s good. It’s just a precaution,” Nitschke said.

“She’s in concussion protocols at the moment and given we’ve got a fair bit of cricket ahead of us, we ruled her out of the game. She’s had a test and she passed, but you’ve got to stay in those protocols for a certain amount of time.”

The incident didn’t prove too much of a hindrance as young tyro Phoebe Litchfield made her second international T20 half-century, posting an unbeaten 64 from 43 balls as the hosts snared the opening match of the series.

Australia reeled in the New Zealand total of 143 in the 19th over.

Litchfield, the reigning ICC Young Cricketer of the Year, hit 11 fours and the winning runs with a reverse sweep as she builds an arsenal of new shots ahead of her first T20 World Cup next month.

“I love to experiment in the nets and it was nice to practice that and then try it out in the middle,” she said.

“It sometimes looks a bit silly when I get it wrong, but whenever the off-side is up, it is an asset for myself.

“It is nice to have them come off in the middle. It felt so great to be out there in Australia and playing in front of a crowd again. It is good to be back.”