Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a World Cup Group A match overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a World Cup Group A match overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.
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At least 113 people have been killed as a result of tremors in the New Zealand city and the teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start of play.
Both defending champions Australia and New Zealand won their opening matches following comprehensive wins over Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.
Australia were unchanged for the game at the VCA Ground but New Zealand brought in batsman Jamie How for all-rounder Jacob Oram in a tactical switch.
This fixture has been designated this year's Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match as it is the only chance Australia and New Zealand have to play each other in 2010/11.
The trophy, named for the contributions of Australia's Chappell family and New Zealand's Hadlee clan to their respective national teams, is currently held by Australia after a 3-2 series win last year in New Zealand.
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Teams
Australia: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wkt), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jason Krejza
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wkt), Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Daniel Vettori (capt), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
TV umpire: Asad Rauf (PAK)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
Match start: 0400 GMT
Pitch conditions: Overcast conditions offered prospect of early swing but the pitch, as Tuesday's match between England and the Netherlands demonstrated, is a beauty to bat on so the seamers cannot afford to be wayward.
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