This winter, all eyes will be on the Land(s) Down Under as England heads to New Zealand and India heads to Australia to play out test series that will play a huge role in shaping the final standings in the World Test Championship.
Three of the four teams competing in the showpiece series have very real ambitions of reaching the final of the ongoing tournament at Lord's next year, with the odd one out currently being the Black Caps. The Men in Blue and the Baggy Greens currently find themselves as the top two and are poised to battle it out once more for the top prize, while England are still clinging on to their faint hopes of catching the top two.
As such, the upcoming Test Series between the four teams are of huge importance. Over the years, they have played out some classics against each other, and we are set to view plenty more exhilarating cricket this winter. But before we look ahead, let's relieve some classic matches between the teams from recent years.
England Wins the Cricket World Cup
The 2019 Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord's is perhaps the most iconic match in the history of the game. The contest was a rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in a nail-biting finish that had never been seen before in a World Cup.
With the talismanic Ben Stokes at the crease, England needed 15 runs to win from the final over with two wickets in hand. Ultimately they picked up 14, with Stokes hitting two sixes – one of them coming bizarrely – to send the contest to a Super Over for the first time.
In the Super Over, England batted first, with Stokes and his partner-in-crime Jos Buttler setting a target of 16 to win for the Black Caps. New Zealand, in response, scored 15 runs, the same as their opponents, but as England had a higher boundary count throughout the match, it was they who secured the victory dramatically and claimed the Cricket World Cup for the first time in history.
The boundary count rule which decided the winner was heavily criticized, and it led to an eventual change in the rules by the ICC and is no longer used as the ultimate decider should the scores remain tied after a Super Over.
Unfortunately for those from the Land of the Long White Cloud, the change was too little, too late. The defeat was New Zealand's second straight in the World Cup final, but they would secure their redemption months later as they defeated India to win the inaugural World Test Championship.
New Zealand's Dramatic One-Run Victory
Fast forward to 2023, and another dramatic chapter was added to the England-New Zealand cricket rivalry. In a Test match at Wellington, the Black Caps pulled off a remarkable one-run victory against the tourists, only the second such result in cricket history. What made this victory even more astonishing was New Zealand's comeback after being forced to follow on, a result that has happened just four times in the last 150 years.
Trailing by 226 runs in the first innings, New Zealand's prospects seemed bleak. However, a gritty performance, led by Kane Williamson's century, set the tourists a difficult-looking target of 258. And their run chase couldn't have gotten off to a worse start when they slumped to 80-5, with the hosts' fearsome pace attack of Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, and Matt Henry causing havoc. But the English seemingly steadied the ship thanks to the mercurial Joe Root, who picked up a crucial 95 to keep his team in the contest.
However, once the Yorkshireman was dismissed by the brilliant Wagner, England were still 55 runs away from victory with just three wickets in hand and no recognized batsman left. The tail end did their utmost, with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes leading the charge. But ultimately it was a step too far.
With the tourists requiring just two runs to win, number 11 James Anderson nicked a ball down the leg side that was gobbled up by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, handing the hosts a famous victory and handing England the first defeat of the Brendan McCullum era. Heading into this winter's series, England is focusing on next year's Ashes series, rather than this trip to New Zealand. The latest cricket lines make them a +500 rank outsider to win. Perhaps they should instead be concentrating on the immediate task at hand.
India End Australia's 33-Year Winning Streak at the Gabba
The 2021 series between India and Australia was a contest for the ages. With the four-test series tied at 1-1 heading into the decider at the Gabba, it was still all to play for in Brisbane. However the Men in Blue were injury-ravaged, missing the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and a whole host of fast bowlers, it was the Aussies who were favored to get the victory. Odds on a home victory shortened even further when they set the tourists 328 to win with just one day left to play.
Many thought that the Indians would try and grind it out and survive, ultimately resulting in a draw. Shockingly, however, they went for the win, something no team had done against Australia since 1988. And in the end, they came up trumps. Rishabh Pant emerged as the hero, playing a fearless innings of 89 not out, guiding India to a historic victory by three wickets.
