New Zealand bowl first against Pakistan

Wellington: New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl in the first of two one-day internationals against Pakistan at Wellington Stadium on Saturday.

The series offers a final chance for both sides to fine-tune before the World Cup begins on February 14.

New Zealand have made four changes to the side that completed a 4-2 series win over Sri Lanka on the same wicket two days ago.

Captain Brendon McCullum returns along with Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne and Trent Boult, replacing Kane Williamson, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan.

Pakistan have not played a one-dayer since a tied series against New Zealand before Christmas in the United Arab Emirates, but captain Misbah-ul Haq felt they had acclimatised well in two warm-up games this week against a New Zealand XI.

"We´ve had a chance to get used to the conditions and I think we´re ready for this game," he said.

Teams:

New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (capt), Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Trent Boult.

Pakistan - Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Irfan. (AFP)