Twist (26) became the Australasian PBA champion when he beat Wellington's Laurie Guy 10-5, 8-4 in the Trans Tasman Challenge final in Hastings this month.
The bowls co-ordinator at the St John's Park Club in Sydney is the only bowler to have played in the seven Trans Tasman Challenges.
He will be supported in the 32-strong field by fellow Jackaroos Barrie Lester (34), of Victoria, and Scott Thulborn, of South Australia.
Lester made his international debut in 2006 and has played in 69 tests. He won a gold medal in the triples at the Eight Nations tournament in 2013 and at the Hong Kong singles and pairs in 2012.
Thulborn returned to the Jackaroos squad this year after impressive form over the past three years.
He won the Australian champion of champions singles title in 2014 and 2015 and has won the Australian open fours title over the past two years.
Australians have won the Speight's-sponsored event three times - Trevor Morris (1992), Tom Ellem (1998) and Brett Wilkie last year.
The event at the North East Valley Bowling Club has always attracted the best bowlers in New Zealand. Twelve overseas internationals have also played.
Four members of the Black Jacks World Bowls team have been included - Shannon McIlroy, who has won the event three times, Mike Kernaghan, Ali Forsyth and Mike Nagy.
Australian-based Blake Signal, the other member of the World Bowls team, has commitments to his league team and is not available.
There are 10 other former New Zealand international bowlers in the field.
In addition, New Zealand junior representative Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (Gore) will be playing in the event for the second time and Andy McLean (Dunedin), who played in the PBA Trans Tasman Challenge this year, is also in the field.
Former New Zealand secondary schools singles champion Dunedin's Jonty Horwell (17) will become the youngest bowler to compete in the event.
North East Valley greenkeeper-manager Terry Scott, the only bowler to have played in every event, will be on the sidelines this year. He has been given the job of cook.
His brother - two-time winner Jim Scott - will play in his 25th event and two-time national singles champion Shaun Scott (North East Valley) his 24th.
The prize money at stake this year is $16,000 and the winner's purse is $5300. The New Zealand TAB will open a book on the event.
The North East Valley event has the most prize money for a bowls event run by a club in New Zealand.
The players must finish in the top three in one of the four sections to reach post-section.
This is a change from previous years when only the top two in each section advanced. The change has been made possible by the deletion of the plate event.
