NZ vs Aus 2nd Twenty20 - Kiwis Looks Bounce Back in Christchurch

Christchurch: Australia, who won their fourth T20 game in a row, extended their unbeaten streak against the Kiwis in the twenty over format of the game. NZ and Aus will play the second Twenty20 international in Christchurch on Sunday.

It was pace that did the trick for Australia, as the likes of Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Shane Watson ended up with two wickets apiece while Mitchell Johnson was the pick of the lot, scalping 3 wickets for just 19 runs in his four overs

New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin is adamant that his team will bounce back against the Aussies, despite the tourists comfortably winning the opening Twenty-20 cricket international in Wellington.

New Zealand were bowled out for 118, and lost the game by six-wickets.

Franklin, who top-scored with 43 with only three Kiwis reaching double figures, said that the team needed good performances from Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor who failed to fire in the game, and made a huge dent to their chances.

Ross' record in T20 is world class and he's our leading batsman in this format with Brendon McCullum," The New Zealand Herald quoted Franklin, as saying.

Australia, fresh from an unbeaten home summer against West Indies and Pakistan, are keen to keep the ball rolling on the tour.

Team news

New Zealand: Tim Southee is the only person New Zealand can bring in to strengthen their line-up and his inclusion won't help the specialist batsmen, who struggled in the opening encounter. Nathan McCullum is the most likely to miss out, although Daniel Vettori will consider employing a second slow bowler again.

Squad (from): Brendon McCullum (wk), Peter Ingram, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Gareth Hopkins, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori (capt), Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond, Tim Southee.

Australia: It would be hard to change the bowling attack after the stunning display, but Ryan Harris remains a front-line option. Shane Watson could be rested to let him in, with Brad Haddin, Travis Birt and Shaun Marsh contenders at the top of the order.

Squad (from): David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Daniel Christian, Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes, Michael Hussey, Travis Birt, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Marsh

Pitch and conditions
The ground in Christchurch is smaller than in Wellington, so expect more than the five sixes struck on Friday. A sunny day with a top of 26 is forecast, but it could be a cool finish, with the temperature expected to drop to a minimum of 12 overnight.

Stats and trivia

• The career strike-rate of Michael Clarke, who scored 18 off 26 in Wellington, is 102.20, which ranks him 27th on Australia's all-time list. Fourteen Australians have played more than 10 T20s and in that group Nathan Bracken is the only one who scores slower than Clarke.
• Daniel Vettori has the best strike-rate of the current New Zealand squad with a wicket every 15.2 balls, while Dirk Nannes and Ryan Harris lead the Australian outfit with a victim every 12 deliveries
• Friday night's win was Australia's fourth against New Zealand in four contests between the teams.

Match facts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Start time 18:00 local (05:00 GMT)