SYDNEY (AP) — Australia reached a relatively untroubled 95 for 1 at lunch on the first day of the third cricket test after captain Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat first against an illness-hit New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

At lunch, David Warner was unbeaten on 45, nearing his first half-century of the series, and Marnus Labuschagne was 28 not out.

Opener Joe Burns (18) was the only wicket to fall in the first session when he edged through to Ross Taylor in the slips off Colin de Grandhomme.

Warner and Labuschagne then combined for an unbroken 56-run partnership coming at better than four runs an over.

New Zealand was forced to make five changes, including that of captain Kane Williamson due to a virus.

Glenn Phillips, who only flew in from Auckland on Thursday as injury cover for Williamson, is making his test debut. Tom Latham is captain and Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Trent Boult are also out.

Seamer Matt Henry, spinners Todd Astle and Will Somerville and batsman Jeet Raval were the other inclusions for the tourists.

Australia named an unchanged team from the one that clinched the series 2-0 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last weekend.

Players from both teams wore black armbands in memory of those killed in current wildfires in southern New South Wales and Victoria states. Conditions were expected to worsen on Saturday and smoke from the fires could affect play on the second day of the test.

Before the match began, a minute of applause was held to thank the thousands of emergency personnel, many of them volunteers, who are fighting the fires.

-___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports