As Australia defended a score of 236, McGrath finished with four for 16 after ending his first spell with the exceptional figures of one wicket for seven runs from seven overs.

He fittingly ended the match when he bowled Daryl Tuffey for one with eight balls remaining to dismiss New Zealand for 226.

New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall was so nearly the hero, cracking 79 off 69 balls at No.6 after the hosts had slumped to 73 for four in the 26th over.

Marshall hit seven fours to top-score after opener Nathan Astle set things rolling with 65.

Needing a run rate of 4.72 per over, New Zealand's top order staggered after an outstanding opening spell by McGrath while speedster Brett Lee captured the prized wicket of captain Stephen Fleming.

The required rate ballooned to 12 an over before Marshall anchored a recovery that saw New Zealand needing a run a ball from the last 13 balls and with three wickets in hand before McGrath mopped up the tail.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting opted to bat first after winning the toss and following a promising start, in which he featured in a 133-run second wicket partnership with Matthew Hayden, Scott Styris ripped through the top order to leave with tourists with what seemed a less than par score.

Styris halted Australia's momentum when they were 140 for one, and his dismissal of Hayden for 71 started a collapse that saw the next five wickets fall for 20 runs in the space of eight overs.

Ponting followed Hayden four balls later for 61 and Styris added the wickets of Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke cheaply in a 23-ball spell of four for five.

The second game in the five-match series is in Christchurch on Tuesday.