Melbourne: New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has sorted out the recent glove controversy by making it clear in a text message to Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin that he did not intend to refer him as a "cheat" and the duo have moved on.

Vettori had questioned Haddin's role as wicketkeeper in the dismissal of batsman Neil Broom during their ODI match on Sunday as replays showed his gloves were in front of the stumps.

New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum was declared fit on Tuesday for the second ODI against Australia on February 6 after recovering from a hip injury.

With McCullum back to fitness, his standby Gareth Hopkins will return home on Tuesday.

Martin Guptill made only 13 in Perth but he is clearly a class act, having posted a century on his ODI debut against West Indies last month.

New Zealand were impressive in the field in Perth, where Kyle Mills was a capable spearhead and picked up four wickets, while Iain O'Brien made a strong return to the format and Daniel Vettori began his 31st year with a typically tight performance.

If Aussies can be one positive from the incident from Australia's perspective it is that it has overshadowed the fact that Australia are 1-0 down and in a serious slump after losing 4-1 to South Africa. They will need to turn their form around without their two leading run scorers over the past six games

Fact about match

• New Zealand are ahead in the Chappell-Hadlee tally, having won six of the 12 matches, with five wins to Australia and one no-result.
• The MCG hasn't been Australia's best venue in recent times - they have won one of their past five ODIs there.
• Australia will take such an inexperienced line-up into the match that Haddin is their third highest career scorer and Clarke is their third highest wicket taker.

Pitch Report: The drop-in surfaces at the MCG have tended to be two-paced in recent times and it has not been the easiest venue to score big runs.

Weather: Melbourne is expecting a sunny day on Friday with a top temperature of 32^oC.

Head to Head: Total 113, Aus 78, NZ 31, NR 4