Australia tour of New Zealand 2021 [Preview]

Australia is scheduled to tour New Zealand in the month of February and March to play five-match T20Is, starting from 22^nd February in Christchurch. Host New Zealand have yet to announce their T20I squad for this five-match series. Kane Williamson will be expected to lead the side as selectors will be looking to pick their strongest squad against Trans-Tasman rivals Australia.

For New Zealand, Devon Conway has been excellent addition to the T20I side after making his debut against West Indies last year. It will interesting to see if Colin de Grandhomme is available for this series after most of New Zealand’s home summer last season.

In the batting department, the onus will be on the likes of Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert and Kane Williamson to deliver the bulk of the runs.

Since May 2019, wicket-keeper opening batsman, Tim Seifert has shown excellent consistency with the bat in the T20 format. He has topped the batting charts for New Zealand with 487 runs in 19 matches with four half-centuries to his name.

Besides Seifert, the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips have produced match-winning performances for New Zealand in the past 12 months. Last season, Glenn Phillips broke the record for the fastest hundred scored by New Zealand batsman in the T20 format.

For this five-match T20I series, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson will be four premier pacers for New Zealand. Scott Kuggeleijn could also added in the T20I squad as a reserve players.

For Australia, premier players like David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been rested for this five-match T20I series after their grueling Test series against India.

Uncapped wicket-keeper opening batsman, Josh Phillipe, who showed excellent form with the bat for Sydney Sixers, will open the innings with Aaron Finch. In 16 matches played for Sixers this year, Phillipe finished the competition with 508 runs at an average of 31.75 with three half-centuries to his name.

For Australia, the experienced players in Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh will be looking to produce notable scores in this game.

Marcus Stoinis, D’Arcy Short, Ashton Turner and Daniel Sams are genuine all-rounders who can contribute well with the bat and ball for Australia.

Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson and Jason Behrendroff will be four pace options for the side, while Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa will be prominent spin options for the five-match series.

Uncapped Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha has earned his maiden call-up to the national side after performing exceedingly well for Sydney Thunder in this year’s Big Bash League. In 14 matches, Sangha claimed 21 wickets at an average of 18.29 with

Since May 2019, Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was the standout performer for Australia in the T20 format. Agar has been leading the bowling charts for the side in the 20-over format. In 12 T20I matches, Ashton Agar claimed 20 wickets at an economy of 6.31.

The opening game of the series will be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 22^nd February. The second game will be played at University Oval in Dunedin on 25^th February, while third, fourth and fifth will be played at Wellington, Auckland and Mount Maunganui respectively.