Meg Lanning's side had an emphatic 40-run win in game one at the MCG on Friday, a victory led by half-centuries from Elyse Villani and Lanning and the spin of debutants Molly Strano and Amanda-Jade Wellington.

The Stars and White Ferns traditionally have tight battles, so it wasn't a surprise that both teams were baffled by this result.

"It's always close when you play New Zealand, no matter what score it is. I guess it was nice to win by more than a whisker ... we can still be better," Villani said.

"We know they will bounce back and they will come out harder next game. We will definitely have to keep our wits about us and keep playing in a positive manner."

White Ferns skipper Suzie Bates, who contributed 26 off 33 balls at the top of the order on Friday, expects a more diligent approach at Kardinia Park.

"Especially the last two years, every game has been really close, and we have been on the winning side of a lot of Twenty20s ... it is the type of game that you have got to bounce back and you can't really dwell on a performance like that," she said.

"That's not how we want to play our cricket. We are much better than that. I think we have got some real quality players that need to play like they can, and have done in the Big Bash. It's going to take one or two players to step up on Sunday. If we don't do that, we might be on the losing side again."

In a year when the Stars are preparing for a World Cup defence in England, their depth was on show with Strano (1-22) and Wellington (3-15) flourishing alongside fellow spinners Kristen Beams (2-24) and Jess Jonassen (1-25).

"The best thing about debutants is it really freshens it up. It reminds us how special it is to play for Australia," Villani said.

"It gives us goose bumps watching other players get their caps presented and the good thing about the three debutants, they have all been playing really well over a number of years. They haven't just been plucked from somewhere. They didn't look out of place."

Fellow debutant Ashleigh Gardner, the first Indigenous Australian representative in almost 60 years since since Faith Thomas (nee Coulthard) against England in February, 1958, has been backed to rebound after she was run-out for a duck, having been handed the coveted No.3 spot in the order.

"She was probably a bit nervous which was understandable, coming in at No.3, but, in saying that, she is the kind of player that is going to come off in every single game. But we back her and the way that she has been playing in the WBBL, we know that is going to be successful at this level," Villani said.

"Speaking from experience, I know how nerve racking it can be. You start thinking it is a different game when it is not really. She is going to be better for the experience."