The hosts were at one stage reeling at 3-6 in the second over after Australian seamers Josh Hazlewood and Ben Dwarshuis ripped through the top order with the new ball. However, Robinson and Daryl Mitchell (34 off 23 balls) combined for a 92-run partnership for the fourth wickets to rebuild the innings.<\/p>\n
The tourists had an evening to forget in the field, gifting Robinson four extra lives after the drinks break \u2013 Travis Head dropped two chances, Tim David put one down in the deep, while wicketkeeper Alex Carey missed a stumping chance.<\/p>\n
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MATCH CENTRE: New Zealand vs Australia first T20 live scorecard<\/a><\/p>\n New Zealand 6 leads to epic crowd catch | 00:35<\/p>\n The Australians wore black armbands in honour of Carey\u2019s father Gordon, who passed away earlier this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier on Wednesday, New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra was ruled out of the T20 series against Australia following a freak training mishap where he suffered a facial laceration that required stitches. <\/p>\n The two nations are fighting over the coveted Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which New Zealand has not won since 2017. Australia whitewashed the Kiwis 3-0 when they previously faced off in February last year, the first time T20s featured in Chappell\u2013Hadlee Trophy.<\/p>\n FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION IN OUR LIVE BLOG BELOW. CAN\u2019T SEE IT? CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n PREVIEW<\/p>\n Former Australian fast bowler Brendan Julian believes it is do-or-die time for a veteran Australian all-rounder when the first T20 begins against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui at 4.15pm AEST on Wednesday.<\/p>\n After missing August\u2019s top end series victory against South Africa, Marcus Stoinis returns to the national team set up with a plethora of all-rounders vying for middle order places ahead of next year\u2019s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n The 36-year-old was Australia\u2019s best player in last year\u2019s T20 World Cup in the West Indies, scoring 169 runs at 42.25 with a blistering strike rate of 164.07 across five innings.<\/p>\n The 2021 T20 World Cup winner smashed 67 not out off 36 deliveries against Oman, and also got the Australians out of trouble against Scotland with 5`9 off 29 balls.<\/p>\n Stoinis also shone with the ball taking ten wickets across six innings, second only to Adam Zampa among Australian bowlers in the tournament.<\/p>\n But since forgoing a Cricket Australia contract to become a full-time freelancer, Stoinis has opened the door for others to secure a middle order berth for themselves.<\/p>\n While the hulking West Australian played in The Hundred in England and America\u2019s Major League Cricket, Mitch Owen impressed in his debut series in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Cameron Green showed he has found another gear as a T20 player, and will return to the bowling crease shortly.<\/p>\n READ MORE CRICKET NEWS<\/p>\n T20 TALKING PTS: Nasty mishap opens door for forgotten Aussie; first audition to fill Starc void<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Prove those people wrong\u2019: How record-breaking Aussie champion silenced sceptics<\/a>\ufeff\u2018Proud of my roots\u2019: Aussies\u2019 spin trump card as \u2018confronting\u2019 World Cup defence begins<\/a><\/p>\n Australia’s Marcus Stoinis. Photo by Randy Brooks \/ AFPSource: AFP<\/p>\n Although, Green is sitting out this series to focus on his Ashes preparation as he is set to play in Western Australia\u2019s Sheffield Shield opener starting October 6.<\/p>\n The emergence of such short form depth, however, led Julian to believe that Stoinis need a big series across the Tasman to remind selectors of his quality, having not played a T20 international since last November.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the batting\u2019s really good. If anything the bowling\u2019s a bit light,\u201d Julian said of Australia\u2019s team on Fox Sports News.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s where it\u2019s a really good opportunity for Marcus Stoinis as an all-rounder.<\/p>\n \u201cHe might lock his spot in here in these three games.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t play against South Africa because he had that contract in England.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not on a contract with Cricket Australia, so he\u2019s a freelancer.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a big opportunity for him because I\u2019m thinking Stoinis, with the all-rounders we have, he could be touch-and-go for the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n Australia’s Marcus Stoinis. Photo by Chandan Khanna \/ AFPSource: AFP<\/p>\n