New Zealand and Australia are set to square off in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) of their ongoing three-match ODI series on Monday at Seddon Park, Hamilton.
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Earlier, the 34-year-old McCullum, in his 260th ODI, was given a guard of honour by the Australian players as he went to the crease.
Brendon McCullum will play his final ODI in Hamilton on Monday, but Kane Williamson is sure New Zealand will not let their focus waver.
Australia handed a debut to Adam Zampa last time out and saw the leg-spinner account for Williamson on his way to figures of 2-57.
It gives the New Zealand skipper a chance to lift the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, contested between the two countries, after Australia beat New Zealand in the World Cup final previous year.
Australia: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa, John Hastings, Joel Paris, Josh Hazlewood. But Mitchell Marsh and John Hastings steered them to an important victory, not only keeping the series alive but giving Australia a much-needed morale boost ahead of the Test series, after five successive losses to India and New Zealand across the ODI and T20 formats.
Ish Sodhi has been called in as cover and would be the only change if Santner misses his first global game in front of the home crowd.
Australia’s batting wonderkid, Steve Smith, has also made a slow start to the tour, twice dismissed cheaply by Kiwi paceman Matt Henry.
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New Zealand were unchanged in Wellington and there appears little reason to alter the side for the decider. According to CricBuzz, he added, “It’s a big moment for Baz [McCullum] and all the guys that have played with him for so long but the focus is certainly on the game tomorrow”.
