KEY POINTS:
Australia's dominance of the world one-day arena took another hit yesterday after key fast-bowler Brett Lee suffered a debilitating ankle injury.
The top paceman appeared to roll his left ankle in a fielding drill at the Basin Reserve as an already patched-up Australian side went through their final paces before today's first Chappell-Hadlee one-dayer.
The sight of Lee being carried by teammates to a minivan and then being whisked away for scans, suggested that not only his Chappell-Hadlee hopes but also his World Cup prospects were in doubt.
Cricket Australia later advised that x-rays had cleared him of any serious break, and that the results of an MRI scan last night would not be available until this morning. No decision on a replacement would be made until the results had been assessed.
The setback could hardly have come at a worse time for Australia, who have just suffered three consecutive ODI losses to England and are now without four of their best players: Lee, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.
To add a bit more spice to the occasion, they know that if they lose the Chappell-Hadlee series they will drop to No 2 (behind South Africa) on the International Cricket Council's ODI rankings list for the first time.
Stand-in skipper Michael Hussey - who is also sweating on a fitness test involving batsman Michael Clarke - said there was no hiding the fact that losing Lee would be a terrible blow for his side, particularly after the earlier loss of Symonds, Ponting and Gilchrist.
Lee is the third highest Australian ODI wicket-taker, behind Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. He has taken 267 wickets at 22.65 in 150 outings, and is also regarded as a world-class outfieldsman and a more-than useful lower-order batsman.
"Brett's one-day record is absolutely outstanding," said Hussey. "If we did lose him it's going to be a big loss, there's no question about that.
"He uses the new ball well, gets early wickets for us.
"We're just lucky that we've got such good players in reserve."
Australia seem likely to use either Hussey or Brad Haddin in tandem with Matthew Hayden at the top of the order today, with Adam Voges and Shane Watson challenging for middle-order berths, and possibly Mitchell Johnson slotting in for Lee.
If Lee needs to be replaced, the Australian selectors will have to decide whether to send over World Cup squad member and fellow fast-bowler Shaun Tait, or to use the opportunity to prepare someone such as Stuart Clark for bigger challenges.
"Certainly the team is not going to be as strong with the likes of Gilchrist, Ponting and Symonds out," said Hussey. "There's no question about that. You can't replace that quality overnight.
"There will be a different feel out there but we do have a very good culture in the Australian team and every player knows what is expected of him."
NZ v AUSTRALIA
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 2pm today
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (c), Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel, Daryl Tuffey, Mark Gillespie.
Australia: Michael Hussey (c), Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Brad Hodge, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath.
* New Zealand last night omitted James Franklin for the first match.
