SCG honours firefighters with a minute’s applause

New Zealand have been dealt a monumental blow with captain Kane Williamson ruled out of the third Domain Test in Sydney as one of five changes for the depleted tourists.

Opening batter Tom Latham will stand in as skipper – New Zealand's 30th Test captain – and will bowl first after Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat.

Out for the Black Caps are Williamson, left-arm spinner Mitch Santner and middle-order batter Henry Nicholls (all due to illness) as well as fast bowlers Trent Boult (injury) and Tim Southee (who the Kiwis say has been left out due to a high workload in the series so far).

Coming in are spin twins Will Somerville and Todd Astle, quick Matt Henry, batter Jeet Raval and debutant batsman Glenn Phillips.

Australia, on the other hand, have resisted handing a maiden cap to leg-spinner Mitch Swepson and enter the series finale unchanged.

The five New Zealand changes means the Black Caps have lost 9966 Test runs and 547 wickets out of their XI from the Boxing Day Test.

Williamson and Nicholls were unable to train in the past two days having come down with flu-like symptoms. The Black Caps camp was hopeful their inspirational captain would recover in time but Williamson's condition did not sufficiently improve in order for him to play.

Both Williamson and Nicholls arrived with their teammates approximately 90 minutes before play and after batting in the SCG nets it was determined they were unfit to play.

"It's been a tough 48 hours for us," Latham said.

"We've had a bit of sickness, a virus has gone through the team which is unfortunate.

"They (Williamson and Nicholls) gave their best chance this morning to be right but unfortunately, they're not right."

Phillips was flown in as cover last night and will make his Test debut having already played 11 T20 internationals.

The right-hander scored 116 for New Zealand A against a strong England outfit six weeks ago and holds a first-class average of 42.54 from 23 matches.

Veteran batter Ross Taylor presented Phillips with his maiden cap 50 minutes before play.

Raval returns at No.3 for the Kiwis after he was dropped for the Boxing Day following a torrid run at the top of the order where he averaged just 7.3 in his past nine Test innings.

Somerville is no stranger to the SCG having played 12 first-class matches for NSW over four seasons before heading home to his native New Zealand in 2018 in search of higher honours.

He made his Test debut in December 2018 in Abu Dhabi and will play his fourth Test today.

QUICK SINGLE Kiwis fly in Phillips as star batters battle illness

Somerville is half of New Zealand's spin twins, with leggie Astle called up to play his fifth Test in eight years.

Astle has just four Test wickets at 54 but has collected 331 wickets at first-class level, along with two centuries to provide some starch to the Black Caps lower order.

This is the first time since 1985 that New Zealand have played a Test at the SCG and need a win at the iconic venue to avoid a series clean sweep.

Australia won the series opener in Perth by 296 runs before beating the Black Caps by 247 runs in the Boxing Day Test to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead and retain the Trans-Tasman Trophy.

Australia XI: David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

New Zealand XI: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Jeet Raval, Ross Taylor, Glenn Phillips, BJ Watling (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Will Somerville, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner

Domain Test Series v New Zealand

Australia squad: David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson

New Zealand: Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson (c)

First Test: Australia won by 296 runs in Perth

Second Test: Australia won by 247 runs in Melbourne

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (Seven, Fox & Kayo)