Live: Australia bat first in Wellington as they hunt series win over NZ

New Zealand’s fast bowler Rosemary Mair has a fresh, white cricket ball in her hand.

Australia’s openers are captain Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield.

Mair comes in to bowl and Healy plays a cover drive which is well fielded. It needed a diving stop or it was going to the boundary.

BEATEN. Great follow up from Mair who pitched the ball a little shorter and beat the outside edge of Healy’s bat.

A fuller ball is worked into the leg side from Healy for no run.

EDGE. Healy is squared-up and gets and edge which sails between point and backward point. Lucky. Healy gets two runs.

Healy then drives to mid-off for no run.

Mair comes in for the final ball of the over and it is left outside the off stump by Healy.

Australia may have retained the Rose Bowl, but there is plenty at stake for both teams today.

For Australia, they are looking for a solid performance with the Ashes less than three weeks away.

Victory for Australia also means they win the Rose Bowl series.

For New Zealand, a victory today will do three things:

1. 1.End a 14-match losing run to Australia in 50-over cricket
2. 2.Draw the Rose Bowl series 1-1
3. 3.All but ensure automatic qualification to next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

The final point is very important for the White Ferns. They will want to avoid the repechage to get into the world cup. There is a really great feeling around this team after their shock T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year.

They could really build confidence with a win today.

Hello Marg.

Pay television provider Foxtel, along with its steaming service Kayo, is the TV broadcaster of this match.

There is no free-to-air broadcast of this match.

ABC Sport will be blogging every ball of today’s match.

I hope you join me throughout the day.

Missed Saturday’s match?

Australia was awarded a 65-run victory via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the second one-day international against New Zealand as rain ended the game in Wellington early.

Read the full story below.

Like the tourists, New Zealand will also field an unchanged side from the team who lost on Saturday.

1. 1.Suzie Bates
2. 2.Bella James
3. 3.Amelia Kerr
4. 4.Sophie Devine (captain)
5. 5.Brooke Halliday
6. 6.Maddy Green
7. 7.Lauren Down
8. 8.Izzy Gates (wicketkeeper)
9. 9.Rosemary Mair
10. 10.Molly Penfold
11. 11.Eden Carson

Australia will keep the same side who claimed victory on Saturday.

1. 1.Alyssa Healy (captain)
2. 2.Pheobe Litchfield
3. 3.Ellyse Perry
4. 4.Beth Mooney (wicketkeeper)
5. 5.Annabel Sutherland
6. 6.Ash Gardner
7. 7.Tahlia McGrath
8. 8.Alana King
9. 9.Kim Garth
10. 10.Megan Schutt
11. 11.Darcie Brown

Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy has won the toss and elected to bat.

“Looked like [the pitch] carried on being nice conditions at the back end of last game, and the wicket hasn’t changed a lot since then,” she told broadcaster TVNZ.

Rejoice, cricket fans.

After rain ruined the men’s Test between Australia and India in Brisbane, and rain washed out Game I and shortened Game II of the Rose Bowl — we have blue skies for Game III.

It looks like the women’s playing today will get a top of about 21 degrees Celcius, with some cloudy skies.

There is practically no rain forecast, other than maybe a 5 per cent chance in the afternoon.

Compliments of the season to you all.

Welcome to ABC Sport’s live blog coverage of Game III of the Rose Bowl.

Australia has already retained the trophy after their win over New Zealand on Saturday.

However, the series result is still undecided, with New Zealand being able to draw the series with a triumph today.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.