Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-arm quick, will take the new ball. He was impressive in South Africa. He has one slip in place...

The New Zealand fielders make their way out followed by the England openers, Alex Hales and Michael Lumb

6.55pm So just a few minutes before all the action begins. A good crowd building up.

Austen: "Watching from Australia... I would love to see New Zealand win, and I can't wait for Ross Taylor to come out and bat! Go NZ!"

6.50pm For all of you asking, sorry I don't know which channel is showing this match in India. You might just have to stick with me!

A few thoughts on the two teams, firstly from Dan: "Back to the future for NZ with a line-up heavy on bits and pieces players. I think it's actually a good selection strategy for us though, as we have a limited choice of specialists who often aren't much chop. Hopefully this new generation can serve us as well as Harris and Larsen and co. did in the 90s."

John, though, isn't too happy with England.: "It's unbelievable to see that Dernbach, who has a terrible record in every format even at domestic level and the worst EVER ODI record, is still being picked. The England selectors don't seem to understand the line between showing loyalty and refusing to admit your mistakes."

6.40pm Another note on New Zealand's team. There is a debut for Hamish Rutherford, the son of former New Zealand captain Ken.

Ben: "I'm in England waiting for the cricket to start, never to early to see us beat NZ, though would like to see Taylor and Brendon McCullum make a few runs"

Hamish, not the Rutherford version, says: "NZ better hope for turn playing 2 spinners, or those short straight boundaries are getting a flogging"

6.30pm The coin goes up and New Zealand have won it and they will bowl first. "Chasing might work in our favour," says Brendon McCullum. He also confirms two spinners with Ronnie Hira in the line-up.

New Zealand 1 Hamish Rutherford, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin Munro, 6 James Franklin, 7 Andrew Ellis, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Ronnie Hira, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Stuart Broad: "We need to get used to the angles, but we have a chance to bat first on it." England play the same team as they did in the last warm-up match, which they lost.

David Gould emails in to say: "I am up looking after new born pups in Bristol UK.Looking forward to this game.I am worried about England fast bowling options though.I don't think Finn is a 20/20 bowler!"

England 1 Alex Hales, 2 Michael Lumb, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Stuart Broad (capt), 9 James Tredwell, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade Dernbach

6.20pm One of the features of this match will be the extremely short straight boundaries. Stuart Broad said they were as small he had seen for an international game. Should be plenty of fours and sixes for the crowd, and a though night for the bowlers.

Who's with me in the UK at this very fine hour of a Saturday morning?

Pete: "Why would anyone in England get up in the early morning to watch a cricket match involving NZ....best to watch the full game during one of the ad breaks in coro street later." I'm sure there will be a few.

6.15pm Hello and welcome to the start of another international tour as New Zealand take on England in the opening Twenty20 in Auckland. I'm Andrew McGlashan and will bring you the action today. The weather looks stunning so no problems there and I'll pass on news of the teams and toss as soon as I get them.

One of the big stories in the build-up to this series has been the return of Ross Taylor from his self-imposed break after losing the captaincy. You can catch up on the whole affair with our in-focus section. Meanwhile, here is a preview of today's game.

0.1

McClenaghan to Lumb, 1 run, back of a length outside off stump, Lumb pushes it square off the back foot to get England underway

0.2

McClenaghan to Hales, 3 runs, lovely start from Hales who also plays off the back foot, drives through the covers and Ronnie Hira doesn't quite get his flick right on the boundary so there's a third

Martin Guptill, for all his Test problems, is a fantastic Twenty20 player

0.2

McClenaghan to Hales, 3 runs

0.3

McClenaghan to Lumb, 1 run, comes across the stumps and works this from outside off to infront of square

0.4

McClenaghan to Hales, no run, keeping it back of a length, Hales aims an expansive pull but doesn't make contact...nothing pitched up so far

0.5

McClenaghan to Hales, no run, there's the first full one, and it's a good response from McClenaghan as Hales came down the pitch and he fired it wider outside off

0.6

McClenaghan to Hales, 1 run, heaved away through square leg, stand-and-deliver from Hales, and it goes straight to deep square

Trent Boult, another left-armer, on his Twenty20 debut takes the ball

1.1

Boult to Hales, 5 wides, swings down the leg side and beats a diving Brendon McCullum so that's a bonus for England...that started outside leg stump

1.1

Boult to Hales, no run, he adjusts well, goes full outside off, driven to the covers

1.2

Boult to Hales, 2 runs, slugged through the leg side with a lot of bottom hand, takes it from outside off into midwicket

1.3

Boult to Hales, SIX, massive! The first six of the evening and it's over the longest part of the ground. Dropped in short and Hales pulls it off the front foot over deep midwicket

1.4

Boult to Hales, no run, starts to shimmy down the pitch and Boult pushes it wider outside off

1.5

Boult to Hales, no run, swings into the pads, cramps Hales for room as he tries to clip to leg

1.6

Boult to Hales, no run, down the pitch again, driven firmly square of the wicket and there's nearly a mix-up but the throw misses at Hales' end

BJ: "Strange age we live in. A few days ago Australia had 3 left-arm pacemen in Johnson, Starc, and Faulkner, and here's New Zealand with three of their own in McClenaghan, Boult and Franklin. Left arm pacemen used to be a rarity once upon a time..."

2.1

McClenaghan to Lumb, no run, no holding back, Lumb uses his feet and tries to drive through the off side but gets beaten by the full delivery

2.2

McClenaghan to Lumb, 1 run, short of a length outside off, no timing as goes for the pull and it dribbles towards square leg

2.3

McClenaghan to Hales, FOUR, sweetly struck, drills this full delivery through the off side...a free flow of the arms through the ball

Early predictions of a big score look spot on

2.4

McClenaghan to Hales, 1 run, goes full at the stumps, swings into the pads a touch and it's clipped with good timing to deep square

2.5

McClenaghan to Lumb, no run, short ball, first proper bouncer of the evening, and he beats Lumb's rather half-hearted attempt to paddle it around the corner

2.6

McClenaghan to Lumb, no run, a lot of swinging with not much reward at the moment for Lumb as he fails to make contact with another booming drive

First change of bowling and it's spin from Hira...

3.1

Hira to Hales, no run, comes down the pitch straight away outside leg and squirts to the off side

3.2

Hira to Hales, no run, fired in at the feet, he can only dig it out back to the bowler...a 'crowd catch'

3.3

Hira to Hales, FOUR, there's the short boundaries, Hales drives this past a diving mid-on and it's over the ropes in the blink of an eye

3.4

Hira to Hales, OUT, well bowled, holds this one back, it's a fraction slower, Hales comes down the pitch but loses his shape as he aims over the leg side and McCullum completes a neat stumping. Spin works, as it often does

AD Hales st †BB McCullum b Hira 21 (14m 16b 2x4 1x6) SR: 131.25

3.5

Hira to Wright, no run, fraction of width outside off, cut away to backward point

3.6

Hira to Wright, 1 run, floated onto leg stump, worked out to deep square-leg

Change of ends for Boult

4.1

Boult to Wright, no run, full outside off, driven without much timing to the covers

4.2

Boult to Wright, no run, good delivery, full and swings back into Wright who can only drive off a thick inside edge back towards the bowler

4.3

Boult to Wright, FOUR, ping...this time he connects cleanly and lofts another full delivery straight down the ground

4.4

Boult to Wright, no run, drags the length back a touch and beats Wright's swing, then gets away with a marginal wide call

4.5

Boult to Wright, SIX, not sure that really came out of the middle, but it clears the deep midwicket boundary comfortably...Wright was able to get underneath this delivery

4.6

Boult to Wright, 1 run, low full toss, Wright was shuffling all around the crease as it was delivered and ends up clubbing it to mid-on

5.1

Hira to Wright, no run, gives himself room by going outside leg, exposes all the stumps, and drives to cover

5.2

Hira to Wright, SIX, that's a lovely shot, classy in whatever format, as he keeps his shape while using his feet then lofts it over mid-off with a straight bat

5.3

Hira to Wright, FOUR, this one is a little more agricultural but very effective as he takes it from outside off straight past mid-on

5.4

Hira to Wright, 1 run, squeezed into the off side

5.5

Hira to Lumb, FOUR, that's well played by Lumb because he was nearly beaten as Hira bowled it a touch slower, but he went through with his paddle sweep and got it backward of square on the leg side

5.6

Hira to Lumb, SIX, just a chip, barely anything more, and it sails over long-on...big over for England to end the Powerplay

Not really an even contest with these straight boundaries

Nathan McCullum into the attack

6.1

NL McCullum to Wright, 1 run, short of a length, tucked out to deep square

6.2

NL McCullum to Lumb, no run, slides into Lumb and takes the pad, big appeal from the B version of McCullum but it was going down leg

6.3

NL McCullum to Lumb, 1 run, fired in full and flat, pushed down the ground to long-on

6.4

NL McCullum to Wright, no run, clever stuff from McCullum who saw Wright coming down the pitch, he fired it wide outside leg and Wright did really well to kick away

6.5

NL McCullum to Wright, SIX, another one straight down the ground, a comfortable swing through the line from Wright and anything close to the middle sails away

6.6

NL McCullum to Wright, 1 run, dropped, this is driven firmly towards cover but he can't hold on...Ross Taylor the man

Andrew Ellis comes on with his medium pace

7.1

Ellis to Wright, 1 run, back of a length and pulled to deep square-leg

7.2

Ellis to Lumb, SIX, lovely shot, it's a day to be a batsmen...full on off stump and just leans into what was really a gentle lofted drive and it's well into the stands

7.3

Ellis to Lumb, 1 run, dropped, another one down! And it's Ross Taylor again. A slower ball from Ellis, nicely bowled, Lumb chips it very high towards deep midwicket so Taylor had plenty of time but made a mess of it

Not the ideal start to Taylor's return

7.4

Ellis to Wright, FOUR, it's hard to keep up...dropped in short, Wright throws all his weight into a pull and gets a top edge over the keeper

7.5

Ellis to Wright, SIX, huge! That's big on any ground. Not the right length, allowing Wright to underneath the ball and he launches it over a straight midwicket

7.6

Ellis to Wright, OUT, gone! This time they hold one. A little fortunate for New Zealand as it was another length ball, Wright connected cleanly but slotted it straight to deep midwicket

LJ Wright c Hira b Ellis 42 (16m 20b 3x4 4x6) SR: 210.00

Eoin Morgan comes in at No.4. McClenaghan back into the attack

8.1

McClenaghan to Lumb, 1 run, resumes full on middle and off, 136kph, flicked out to deep square

8.2

McClenaghan to Morgan, 1 run, a full delivery, pushed into the off side

8.3

McClenaghan to Lumb, no run, swing and a miss to a full delivery outside off, Lumb was aiming through the leg side

8.4

McClenaghan to Lumb, OUT, good piece of bowling, banged in a short and Lumb went for the pull but it loops off the glove could to send a simple catch to short fine-leg

MJ Lumb c Rutherford b McClenaghan 22 (35m 15b 1x4 2x6) SR: 146.66

Vital for New Zealand to keep chipping away

8.5

McClenaghan to Bairstow, no run, good length on off stump, Bairstow pushes his first ball square to point

8.6

McClenaghan to Bairstow, FOUR, dropped in short again, Bairstow picks it up early pulls well in front of square...not much time reassess when wickets fall, just have to keep going

Another left-armer into the attack. It's James Franklin

9.1

Franklin to Morgan, FOUR, starts with a low full toss outside off and it's driven down the ground...odd field, no mid-off who is almost cover instead

9.2

Franklin to Morgan, FOUR, no effort needed on this one, just leans on it and bunts down the ground

Conventional mid-off in place now

9.3

Franklin to Morgan, no run, drags the length back a fraction and Morgan pushes to cover

9.4

Franklin to Morgan, no run, beaten by one that swings away outside off stump

9.5

Franklin to Morgan, no run, decent comeback from Franklin, back of a length and it's defended towards cover

9.6

Franklin to Morgan, SIX, it's like a shooting gallery as Franklin goes fuller which gives Morgan the chance to drive through the line and these batsmen will always be confident of clearing the straight boundaries

Nathan McCullum is back

10.1

NL McCullum to Bairstow, 1 run, reverse sweep to a delivery on the stumps, well struck but straight to short third man

10.2

NL McCullum to Morgan, no run, ensures he doesn't get too full, Morgan plays to the off side

10.3

NL McCullum to Morgan, 1 run, nicely bowled, follows Morgan as he tries to give himself some room and he just pushes down to long-on which isn't much further back than mid-on

10.4

NL McCullum to Bairstow, no run, played back to the bowler

10.5

NL McCullum to Bairstow, SIX, for a second there was a question whether this was clean enough...soon became clear it was as Bairstow goes over long-on

10.6

NL McCullum to Bairstow, 1 run, flatter on leg stump, worked out to deep midwicket

11.1

Ellis to Bairstow, SIX, that's a freebie from Ellis as he drops short on leg stump, Bairstow swivels on the pull and with barely any effort gets another six

11.2

Ellis to Bairstow, FOUR, blimey, it's a tough game for the bowler...Bairstow aims through the leg side and gets a inside edge past the stumps. Was actually a good slower ball. No reward

11.3

Ellis to Bairstow, 1 run, back of a length at off stump, Bairstow gives himself a touch of room and drives to Taylor at cover

11.4

Ellis to Morgan, 1 run, round the wicket, short of a length, pulled into the square-leg area

11.5

Ellis to Bairstow, 1 wide, bouncer which slides down the leg side and it's called wide

11.5

Ellis to Bairstow, 1 run, dropped, this was a really tough one - third drop of the innings. Bairstow pulled out to deep square, Hira made good ground but couldn't take a low chance

11.6

Ellis to Morgan, 1 run, on leg stump, chipped in the air and carries quite a way but falls short of deep square

Question to you all watching. Do you like this contest? Here's Troy to start with: "The dimension's of Eden Park are a joke for international cricket."

12.1

McClenaghan to Morgan, 1 run, back of a length, Morgan opens the face and drops it backward of point

McClenaghan for his last over

12.2

McClenaghan to Bairstow, no run, well bowled, back of a length, Bairstow doesn't make contact with his short-arm-jab turned pull

12.3

McClenaghan to Bairstow, 2 runs, goes full and it's work along the ground through midwicket...there's some excellent running to make that into a two, even they are rare on this ground

12.4

McClenaghan to Bairstow, 1 run, a slower bouncer which Bairstow waits for then ramps it at the last minute down to third man

12.5

McClenaghan to Morgan, SIX, all the way...again. Loses his line a little onto leg stump and Morgan picked it up over the fine-leg boundary. A drop in the crowd

12.6

McClenaghan to Morgan, 1 run, low full toss outside off, driven firmly but straight to deep cover

That completes McClenaghan's four overs and he's done a pretty good job given the conditiions

Hira back into the attack

13.1

Hira to Morgan, 1 run, round the wicket, fired in full, driven down to long-off

13.2

Hira to Bairstow, 1 run, flicked down to long on

Nabyendu: "Even Chris Martin would have cleared the ropes at will!!"

13.3

Hira to Morgan, FOUR, poor line down the leg side, tickled away very fine...can't afford to be on the pads

13.4

Hira to Morgan, 1 run, he gets away with this as he chips into the gap...Morgan tried to go over the off side and it skewed off a thick edge

13.5

Hira to Bairstow, 1 run, drilled down to long-off, a metre either side and that was four

13.6

Hira to Morgan, 1 run, played out to deep cover

Jordan: "I'm not enjoying this contest at all. As much as i love seeing people hit 6's this is just a joke. This isn't even T20.. T20 requires at least a little skill from the bowlers, this is just a slogfest. swing at everything"

14.1

NL McCullum to Morgan, FOUR, dropped Oh my goodness, New Zealand having a nightmare in the field. Morgan drives and gets a thick outside towards short third man where it just goes through McClenaghan's hands...blinks is eyes as though he didn't pick it up

14.2

NL McCullum to Morgan, SIX, now that hurts for the bowler, gets lofted over deep square leg the ball after the dropped chance

14.3

NL McCullum to Morgan, 1 run, pushed into the off side

14.4

NL McCullum to Bairstow, 1 run, excellent piece of fielding at cover as Hira dives to cut off Bairstow's back-foot drive which was well timed

Sahil Rana: "Its like seeing Hong Kong Sixes...."

14.5

NL McCullum to Morgan, no run, fired in full and wide, well bowled, and Morgan plays over the top of it. DOT BALL.

14.6

NL McCullum to Morgan, 1 run, angled into Morgan from round the wicket and he just drops it into the covers to keep the strike

15.1

Hira to Morgan, 1 run, round the wicket, uses his feet and nudges down the ground

15.2

Hira to Bairstow, FOUR, low full toss and it's just drilled down the ground...Bairstow didn't even really start running

15.3

Hira to Bairstow, 1 run, good response from Hira, fired in at Bairstow's pads and he clips to deep midwicket

15.4

Hira to Morgan, no run, very good, full on middle, driven straight back to Hira in his follow through

15.5

Hira to Morgan, OUT, Taylor holds one! And has a wry smile about it. Morgan loses his shape as he tries a booming drive and the ball loops to cover

EJG Morgan c Taylor b Hira 46 (32m 26b 4x4 3x6) SR: 176.92

Jos Buttler at the crease but not on strike straight away

15.6

Hira to Bairstow, 1 run, worked along the ground through midwicket

16.1

NL McCullum to Bairstow, 1 run, full at the stumps, pushed reasonably gentle down to long-on

16.2

NL McCullum to Buttler, no run, beaten outside off as he aims square

16.3

NL McCullum to Buttler, SIX, this is almost a bit silly, Buttler virtually mis-hits this off the back foot but manages to pull a six over long-on

16.4

NL McCullum to Buttler, SIX, big...and bigger. But again it wasn't out of the middle. Almost went straight up but still ended in the second tier of the stand

16.5

NL McCullum to Buttler, FOUR, wonderful shot. A skimmer over extra cover, there was a touch of class about that as he adjusted his wrists at the last minute to pick his spot

16.6

NL McCullum to Buttler, 1 run, nudged into the off side

Kiwi Andrew: "Eden Park is an absolute farce of a cricket ground. T20 is bad enough but then to think they will be playing the glorious test cricket there is just awful. Has there ever been 500 scored on day 1? Could happen"

17.1

Boult to Buttler, no run, there's his first attempt at the scoop for the innings and he misses out, which is rare

17.2

Boult to Buttler, 1 run, excellent delivery, full at the stumps and Buttler can only club it through midwicket

Haniff: "Isn't there a minimum for the distance to boundaries? This is ugly." Yes, there is. Not sure of the exact figures

17.3

Boult to Bairstow, 1 run, pulled to deep square-leg

17.4

Boult to Buttler, 1 run, gives himself room to leg, it's a back-of-a-length delivery, Buttler heaves down to long-on

This is now England's highest T20 score against New Zealand

17.5

Boult to Bairstow, OUT, well, that's a rare sight today. A ball fails to clear long-on. Back of a length again, Bairstow played another flat-batted pull and found Guptill with precision

JM Bairstow c Guptill b Boult 38 (36m 22b 3x4 2x6) SR: 172.72

17.6

Boult to Patel, 1 run, moves away to leg straight away, it's a short ball and Patel slices it in the air towards deep cover but it falls short

Butch Theron: "It's a joke playing cricket on a rugby field."

Avi Singh, our scorer for today, sends me this: "Eden Park's straight boundaries are shorter than those at most grounds in Auckland club cricket."

18.1

Ellis to Patel, 1 run, he follows Patel who started moving to leg early, the ball ends up skewing off a thick edge to deep square

18.2

Ellis to Buttler, 1 run, full on leg stump, sweetly flicked but straight to deep midwicket

18.3

Ellis to Patel, OUT, good catch from the captain. Patel gets a big top edge as he aims over the leg side, goes straight up and McCullum moves around from his position to take the chance

SR Patel c †BB McCullum b Ellis 2 (2m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66

Important few balls left in this innings. Can New Zealand keep England to 210?

18.4

Ellis to Buttler, 1 run, full toss outside off stump, nearly beats Buttler who gave himself room but manages get it towards cover

18.5

Ellis to Broad, no run, another excellent slower short ball, completely beats Broad's attempt to paddle it around the corner

18.6

Ellis to Broad, FOUR, close! Almost from Franklin. Broad lofted a full ball towards long-on where Franklin runs around the boundary, knows he is close to the rope and that puts him off and he can't stop the boundary either. Technically another drop

19.1

Boult to Buttler, 1 run, good delivery, full at leg stump, Buttler can only get it down the ground for a single

That's England's highest T20 score

19.2

Boult to Broad, OUT, oh, well done Brendon. That was superb. This time it's Broad who gets a big top edge and it goes straight behind McCullum who turns and chases it. Almost goes to far, in fact, but holds on

SCJ Broad c †BB McCullum b Boult 4 (5m 3b 1x4 0x6) SR: 133.33

Crazy as it sounds, England could fall a little short of what they might have

19.3

Boult to Buttler, no run, well bowled, beats him with a full one outside off

19.4

Boult to Buttler, no run, another dot ball, good over for New Zealand...full outside off and he tries one of his scoops over third man and can't make contact

19.5

Boult to Buttler, SIX, that's a clean hit...Boult dropped it in too short, gave Buttler the length he wanted and he launches over long-on

19.6

Boult to Buttler, (no ball) FOUR, comes round the wicket, full delivery, wonderful drive past mid-off...and it's a no-ball! So a free hit to come. Big bonus for England

19.6

Boult to Buttler, no run, it's a good slower ball for the free hit and Buttler gets bowled, but it won't count

Well, that was breathless stuff. England have posted their highest T20 total and that will be some chase if New Zealand get them. But this ground gives them a good chance of doing it. England went hard early and never stopped going. No one reached fifty but all the top order chipped. New Zealand's catching was poor and that could prove costly. Join me in a few minutes for the chase.