Cricket World Cup
New Zealand Cricket Board and Australia Cricket Board have decided that the match between the two national teams on the 25th of February in the Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium would be the only and the deciding match for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy.
The Chappell-Hadlee trophy is a bilateral series played between the two nations usually once a year which usually comprises of at least two matches. However due to the lack of dates in both of the teams calendars the two cricket boards have decided that the winner of Friday’s match will be handed over the trophy.
New Zealand have so far won 9 of the 21 matches played in the Chappell Hadlee series while have lost the rest 12 matches. New Zealand Cricket chief Justin Vaughan said “This is a truly unique occasion with the two sides unlikely to compete for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy in India again.” While Cricket Australia’s chief executive said “I’m delighted the teams will have a chance to compete for this great trophy, which underpins the trans-Tasman rivalry in the one-day game. There is plenty at stake in this game.”
Mr. Ian Chappell and Mr. Dayle Hadlee, after whom the trophy is named shall both be present in Nagpur and shall be presenting the winning captain with the trophy. The match was already a very crucial one for the winner of this match would have given the two teams a chance to top their respective groups.
Group A which already has teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka who are very much akin to the conditions of the sub-continent also have a great chance of topping their groups. The only advantage of topping a particular group would be of playing the weakest team of the other group once the teams enter the quarter finals. The combinations are such that the top team of group A plays the team which is placed fourth in the quarter finals; while the second team of group A plays the third best team from group B, so on and so forth.
However it is worth mentioning that given the openness of this world cup where none of the teams have an added advantage of sorts, it would not make too much of a difference for any of the teams whether they are placed first or fourth in their respective groups. Each team would be going in with a fresh approach into the quarter finals which start on the 23rd of March.
Again given the amount of time left in the tournament it is very hard to predict what will be the final outcome of the group stages? Thus one can only wish the two teams the best of luck and hope for a good game of cricket.
Tags: Australia, Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Nagpur, New Zealand, Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, World Cup
