Uncapped paceman Mitchell Johnson was brought into Australia's one-day international squad Thursday to replace Brett Lee, who was sent home to seek treatment for a nasal condition.
Johnson, a 24-year-old player with the Queensland Bulls who is not contracted to the national squad, will serve as a backup Saturday in Christchurch for the final ODI in the three-match series, selector Trevor Hohns said.
"Mitchell Johnson is a young player that weve had our eye on for a while," Hohns said in a statement.
"We felt this was an ideal opportunity, with one game to go in the series, to get him involved in the Australian one-day international team environment. It is certainly a selection with a view to the future," he said. The young left-hander was thrilled with the opportunity.
"Even though its only for one match, Im pretty excited to be given the chance to be involved in the Australian squad, and thrilled that the selectors even have me in their thoughts," he said.
Australia clinched the three-match series on Wednesday when a thrilling New Zealand chase fell just two runs short.
Few details were given on Lee's condition, with the team saying only that he had been experiencing some breathing difficulty, possibly related to a nasal infection he suffered earlier this year.
The tearaway fast bowler left New Zealand as a villain after bowling a potentially dangerous delivery during the closing stages of Wednesday's match.
With the black caps closing in on Australia's imposing total of 322, Lee sent a full-toss waiste high to batsman Brendon McCullum, who fended the ball off for a boundary.
McCullum was on the receiving end of a similar Lee toss at the beginning of the year that came in head-high and led to calls for the blistering paceman to be disciplined. Captain Ricky Ponting insisted Lee's latest controversial delivery was an attempted yorker than went astray and the bowler apologised to McCullum immediately.
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