Clarkson makes his debut as a New Zealand batsman; Australia leaves Smith out.

Big-hitting Josh Clarkson will make his T20I debut as New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bat against an almost full-strength Australia at Sky Stadium. 

Steven Smith was overlooked for Australia, with allrounder Matthew Short chosen and set to bat at No. 7.
Clarkson has been picked New Zealand’s No. 6, with speedster Lockie Ferguson recovering from injury after missing the Super Smash final for Auckland. 

New Zealand is in terrific form in the format, defeating Pakistan 4-1 at home last month. Santner is captaining the series in place of Kane Williamson, who is expecting his third child. 

New Zealand is also without injured fast Matt Henry, and allrounder Daryl Mitchell is recovering from a foot ailment.
Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Travis Head return after missing Australia’s recent 2-1 T20I series win over the West Indies. 

With Josh Hazlewood and legspinner Adam Zampa in the lineup, Australia will field a full-strength frontline attack, with Starc and Cummins returning after being rested since the home Test summer ended late last month.
Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is on paternity leave and will miss the match, leaving Josh Inglis to assume the gloves. Inglis will bat at number five, with Head opening opposite David Warner as usual.

 
With the T20 World Cup just over three months away, the three-match series represents the final preparation for both countries as they attempt to finalise rosters for the tournament, which will be held in the United States and the Caribbean.
The trans-Tasman rivals will compete for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, which was formerly handed only to the victor of a bilateral ODI series between the nations.