New Zealand-Australia Combined ODI XI

The Trans-Tasman rivalry in ODIs is all set to be rekindled in the form of a 3-match bilateral series scheduled to be played in New Zealand between February 3 and February 8. It is a special series, more so because it will be the last one for the Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum before his retirement.The last ODI meeting Australia and New Zealand was the final of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup where the Aussies emerged victorious and grabbed their 5th World Cup title. It has been close to 6 years since the two neighbouring countries played out a bilateral series, the previous one being in 2010 when Australia won 3-2.Since the squads for both teams are already in place for the ODI series, we have picked a combined XI including players from both Australia and New Zealand. Let's take a look at who makes the cut:

#1 Martin Guptill

Guptill is playing some superb cricket at the moment.

Martin Guptill is in the form of his life at present and is one of the best ODI openers in the game. He struck a rich vein of form towards the end of the World Cup last year and has been doing exceptionally well ever since.

Guptill has made a terrific start to 2016 as well with a century and a fifty already in just 4 innings. Martin Guptill may not have been able to establish himself in the longest format of the game yet, but he has been a completely different animal in both ODI cricket and T20I cricket.

#2 David Warner

Warner has been as explosive as ever in the ODI format

David Warner has been a revelation at the top of the order for Australia across all formats. Warner forms a brilliant opening combination in ODI cricket with fellow Australian Aaron Finch and together they have given Australia many a good start in the recent past.

The southpaw had quite a seesaw year in 2015 in terms of ODI form; however, David Warner has made an electric start to 2016 with 220 runs in just 3 innings including a knock of 122 in his last match. The series against New Zealand provides Warner another great opportunity to cash in on his good form.

#3 Kane Williamson

Williamson hit 84 in his most recent ODI innings against Pakistan

Easily one of the most reliable batsmen in world cricket today, Kane Williamson walks in as the perfect No. 3 in our combined New Zealand-Australia XI. Williamson may not be scoring the big hundreds, but he is surely making strong contributions in the Kiwi batting line-up.

However, he may want to sort out his issues with the nervous nineties of which he had 5 last year. Kane Williamson is among the most improved ODI batsmen in recent times and turned out to be the 2nd highest run-scorer in the 50-over format for 2015 with 1,376 runs at an average of above 57.

#4 Steven Smith

Smith en route his brilliant knock of 149 against India in a recent game.

Steven Smith’s career has come leaps and bounds as he has transformed from being a useful lower order batsman and leg spinner to becoming one of the world’s best batsmen across formats. After being out of the ODI team for a while, Smith made a brilliant comeback in 2014 and has not looked back since.

The Aussie skipper has played some blistering ODI knocks in the recent past, but none greater than his epic 149 to thwart India in the 1st ODI he played this year. Steve Smith’s consistency with the bat has been his forte and he makes an ideal No. 4 for our New Zealand-Australia ODI XI.

#5 Brendon McCullum (captain)

McCullum can change the course of a match at will.

It is impossible not to include the man playing his farewell series in our combined XI as Brendon McCullum makes an appearance as No. 5 and captain of the team. Terms like ‘form’ and ‘consistency’ don't count for much when McCullum is out in the middle.

The swashbuckling batsman can change the direction of the match at any point of time with his big hitting skills. Another positive that Brendon McCullum brings is his shrewd captaincy, which may seem baffling at times, but has proved to be mighty effective.

McCullum will surely be on the lookout to give his fans not only in New Zealand but all over the world a fitting goodbye.

#6 Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell has shown some great maturity in ODIs of late.

The Big Show, as Glenn Maxwell is fondly called, looks to have discovered a new responsible side to himself, which makes him even more dangerous than ever before. We saw a great proof of this during his match-winning knock of 96 against India at Melbourne recently.

Maxwell’s abilities as a game changing batsman are unparalleled and he also adds value as a handy off spinner and an outstanding fielder. This is precisely the reason why he pips a number of other rivals to claim the No. 6 spot in our combined XI of players from Australia and New Zealand.

#7 Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper)

Wade has improved his performances with the bat of late.

In the battle of wicketkeepers, Matthew Wade edges out Luke Ronchi by the slightest of margins. Perhaps the only reason for this is the fact that Wade has fared better with the bat in recent times, particularly the ODI series against England last year.

The Australian wicketkeeper has also done a pretty decent job behind the stumps for his team and has 83 dismissals so far in his career. Matthew Wade fits in just about perfectly in the wicketkeeper and No. 7 batsman role in our combined Australia-New Zealand ODI XI.

#8 James Faulkner

Faulkner is one of the better allrounders in world cricket.

James Faulkner fights off stiff opposition from other contenders like Corey Anderson to make it to our team as a pace-bowling all rounder. Although he may not have been at his best in the ODI series against India, Faulkner is an effective ODI bowler and can bat very well for a lower order batsman.

The left-arm paceman already has picked up 65 wickets in 49 matches and has also scored more than 800 ODI runs at an average of slightly below 40. James Faulkner will be looking to get things back on track for himself in the series against New Zealand.

#9 Matt Henry

Matt Henry has enjoyed great success with the ball of late.

Matt Henry has been the in-form bowler for New Zealand in ODI cricket and forms part of the bowling attack in our combined New Zealand-Australia team. Henry picked up 13 wickets in the recent series against Sri Lanka and bagged 2 Player of the Match awards for his efforts.

In an ODI career which is just 22 matches old, the Kiwi pacer has bagged 43 wickets at a brilliant average of 22.62. With Matt Henry opening the bowling beside Trent Boult, Australian batsmen are sure to be up against it in the Trans-Tasman ODI series.

#10 John Hastings

Hastings has been consistent in his limited chances.

In the India-Australia ODI series which was largely dominated by batsmen, John Hastings was one bowler who managed to hold his own with 10 wickets from 4 games. Even his economy rate was top notch for a high scoring series as he conceded more than 6 runs per over in just one match.

With Mitchell Starc out of action at least for the moment, Hastings has the perfect opportunity to establish himself in the ODI unit. John Hastings makes it to our team as an important member of the bowling attack.

#11 Trent Boult

Trent Boult has been New Zealand’s bowling superstar.

Left-arm New Zealand paceman Trent Boult, who shot to fame with a highly successful World Cup campaign, assumes the role of frontline bowler in our combined XI. Boult was the joint highest wicket-taker in the 2015 World Cup with 22 wickets and enjoyed a great contest with Australia’s Mitchell Starc.

The Kiwi express bowler has not dropped his form even after the World Cup and has been picking wickets consistently. Trent Boult has picked up 9 wickets in 3 matches this year and will be looking to escalate his tally in the 3-match ODI series against the Australians.