Key events
The second and third ODIs are also in Wellington on Saturday and Monday. Thankfully the forecast is better so we should get some action. Not sure it’ll be today, though.
No progress I’m afraid. With the caveat that I’m not a weatherman and have given it about 10 seconds’ thought, I’d estimate the chances of play at less than five per cent.
Raf Nicholson has picked her women’s team of the year, which includes one player apiece from New Zealand and Australia.
The teams aren’t even at the ground, which tells you how far away we are from seeing some cricket. I’ll be real with you: it’s not looking good.
Toss delayed
The covers are on and, as I type, Mel Jones’ hair is being blown all over the place on the TV coverage. The weird thing is she’s standing in a windowless room.
‘It’s not a massive jump from the WBBL to international cricket’
Georgia Voll, 21, was added to the Australia squad for this tour after an outstanding debut series against India. She spoke to Martin Pegan on the eve of today’s game.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Wellington weather radar. Yep, I’m afraid the first ODI between New Zealand and Australia is at the mercy of a forecast that ranges from bad to worse.
This three-match series, between the T20 and ODI world champions, is a white-ball decider of sorts. New Zealand have home advantage, Australia have format advantage – at least when the matches are 50 overs a side. If there is scope for a reduced game today, it probably helps New Zealand.
The trip across the Tasman is part of Australia’s preparation for the Ashes, which is less than a month away, and they’ll want to continue an extraordinary ODI record against New Zealand. Since the beginning of the 2010s they’ve won 31 of 34 completed matches.
They won’t be able to field the XI they have in mind for the Ashes ODIs. Sophie Molineux is out of all three games with a knee injury, while the captain Alyssa Healy’s knee problem means she will play as a batter only. Beth Mooney is likely to fill in as wicketkeeper, with Georgia Voll – who played spectacularly against India in her debut series – likely to miss out to accommodate Healy’s return.
New Zealand will play their first cricket since the fairytale win at the T20 World Cup. There’s no time to bask in that glory, though, as they are in danger of missing out on automatic qualification for next year’s 50-over World Cup and need every ranking point they can get. Given their ODI record against Australia, even a 2-1 defeat might be a decent outcome. That’s if we get a result today.
The match starts at 9am AEDT. In theory
