Australia 16 for 1 (Marsh 9*, Short 2*, Duffy 1-13) vs New Zealand – No result
Rain only allowed for 13 balls in the second T20I in Mount Maunganui with Australia retaining the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy over New Zealand after the match was abandoned, with one game to play on Saturday.
Persistent rain for the entire day subsided just after the scheduled 7.15pm start which allowed for a toss to happen at 7.45pm with both teams planning for an 8.15pm start and an 18-over-a-side game. Michael Bracewell sent Australia in as New Zealand made three changes with Ben Sears returning from injury, Ish Sodhi becoming New Zealand’s most-capped men’s T20I player, and Jimmy Neesham called in to replace Kyle Jamieson, Zak Foulkes and Bevon Jacobs.
Australia would have bowled on the same surface as game one but were forced to bat first after the pitch spent all day under covers. Australia made only one change with Sean Abbott called in to replace Ben Dwarshuis, who was rested.
But rain returned just before the scheduled start and did not abate until 8.47pm. It took 43 minutes to dry the ground and set up a nine-overs-a-side game.
The teams did not get through the 2.4 over powerplay. Australia struggled to 16 for 1 as Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy zipped the ball around on the moist surface. Travis Head was the only wicket to fall, slicing Duffy to Devon Conway at backward point.
The rain returned and never stopped. The two teams will return on Saturday for game three but the forecast is not promising.
