Australia have continued their historic success over the Black Caps after salvaging a two wicket victory from the jaws of defeat in Cairns overnight.

Sent in to bat first, New Zealand posted what looked like an underwhelming total of 232/9, with no batsman reaching a half century on a pitch that was deceptively difficult for them to navigate.

That sense was proven correct when Australia came to the crease in reply and immediately suffered a top-order collapse at the hands of Trent Boult and Matt Henry.

After 12 overs, Australia's chase was in dire straits at 44/5 and all of a sudden the New Zealand batting effort looked heroic.

However, Alex Carey (85) and Cameron Green did what many Australians have done before against New Zealand; they dug in and forged a fightback.

A record partnership against New Zealand of 158 for the sixth wicket followed which put Australia back in the box seat to clinch victory.

Three wickets in three overs put huge pressure on the home side to come through at the death and it was Green (89*), fighting a crippling bout of cramps, who fought admirably to lead his side to the win.

"It was a tricky surface and we thought we had a competitive total, we wanted a few more, but we knew that it was really difficult out there and we saw that at the start of the Australian innings," Kane Williamson said in his post-match interview.

"Credit to the way Alex Carey and Cameron Green played, it was an outstanding partnership that obviously we were just one delivery away from trying to break and they took the game deep and really took their side across the line.

"We'll assess. It was a reasonable performance but frustrating not to get across the line tonight."

Maxwell magic

The game began in electric fashion, though not from the point of view of the Black Caps.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bowl first and New Zealand were 10/0 in the fifth over when Mitchell Starc found the outside edge of Martin Guptill's bat, with the Kookaburra flying towards the gully region.

Maxwell quickly shifted to his left, catching the ball behind his body with an outstretched arm to send the Queensland crowd into a frenzy.

The slow start, coupled with the loss of Guptill (6), had the Black Caps firmly on the back foot on a pitch that was providing plenty of encouragement for the Australian bowlers, both pace and spin.

However, Kane Williamson arrived at the crease and combined with Devon Conway to do his proverbial job of steadying the ship. The pair put on 81 for the second wicket from 109 balls and were just gaining momentum when Conway (46) fell LBW while trying to sweep a straight delivery from Adam Zampa.

Williamson (45) looked to be grafting his way into some semblance of form - he was playing just his fourth ODI since the 2019 World Cup - before he holed out with an ugly shot to midwicket off the part-time spin of Maxwell to become the second batsman of the innings to fall just short of a half century.

Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell consolidated the innings nicely with a 52-run partnership that was eventually foiled by the ever-present Maxwell who coaxed a clumsy shot from Mitchell (26), the in-form all-rounder chipping a full delivery straight to Steve Smith at short midwicket.

Four balls later and Maxwell struck again, this time forcing an equally ineffective shot from Latham (43) who swept lazily in the air to short fine leg to become the third Black Cap to fall in the forties.

Maxwell picked up his fourth two overs later, enticing yet another soft dismissal from a Black Caps batsman with Michael Bracewell (7) his new victim via a chip to Steve Smith at cover, the only man in the ring in front of square on the off side.

With six overs to play it was up to James Neesham (16) and Mitchell Santner (13) to rescue a respectable total for the tourists but they failed, like every other batter in the innings, to find the middle of the bat on a pitch stacked with tennis-ball bounce.

In the end, the New Zealand total of 232/9 looked about 30-runs under par and Maxwell expressed confidence in his side's ability to chase it down as he left the field.

Boult sparks electric start

Trent Boult celebrates one of his early wickets against Australia. Photo / Photosport

However, Trent Boult had other ideas.

He first took the scalp of Finch (5) - for the fifth time in ODI cricket - plum LBW before getting Smith (1) to chop a full delivery onto his stumps. His next turn with the ball saw him repeat his deadly dose of LBW, this time at the expense of Marnus Labuschagne (0). All three wickets fell within the space of 15 deliveries from Boult and Australia had been rocked.

At the other end of the pitch, David Warner had looked his usual confident, blazing self as he played his way to 20 from 24 balls. However, Matt Henry decided it was time to join the wicket party, albeit in slightly fortuitous fashion, by tempting Warner into middling a pull shot straight into the hands of Bracewell at the deep square leg boundary.

Henry put in a power of a spell to begin the Australian innings and in his sixth consecutive over he clean bowled long-time Kiwi nemesis Marcus Stoinis (5) to leave the home side well and truly reeling at 44/5 after 12 overs.

However, once again this match produced a twist, as Alex Carey and Cameron Green found a way to get their eyes in against the likes of Santner and Bracewell's unthreatening deliveries.

The pair's first 50 came slow, the second came at a medium pace while the third was fast by any ODI's standards. All of a sudden Australia were back in control of the match as, with 15 overs to play, they required just 62 runs with five wickets in hand.

Alex Carey (L)and Cameron Green put on 158 for the sixth wicket. Photo / Photosport

Carey and Green kept powering on as the dew on the ground helped the ball skid-on, rather than hold-up off the pitch and timing became a simple prospect.

The 38th over presented a chance for the Black Caps to get back into the match as Green skied a ball to third man from the bowling of Lockie Ferguson. However, Boult's casual approach from the boundary proved to be a false front as he ended up falling forwards and dropping the ball to the turf.

Two overs later the match twisted once again.

First, Ferguson broke the Carey/Green partnership by inducing a lazy pull shot from Carey before the incoming Maxwell (2) was dismissed next over - Boult's fourth and final victim of the match.

Four balls later and Mitchell Starc became Ferguson's second scalp as he chipped an innocuous delivery off his hips straight to Mitchell at square leg.

Runs weren't the problem for Australia now, it was wickets in hand.

Adam Zampa joined Green at the crease and the senior batsman almost immediately fell to the ground with cramping in both his legs to add further drama to the match. A five minute treatment from the team physiotherapist followed and Green returned to his feet for the final push - 23 from 50 balls with two wickets in hand.

It was Zampa who stepped up at the death, with a run-a-ball 13 not out, to help the ailing Green to the finish line and a 1-0 lead in the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Series.