On Saturday, when co-hosts Australia and New Zealand clash in their World Cup match in Auckland, it will be a unique case of a tournament being played in the middle of a tournament.
The match will not only determine which team will top the group, but also the trans-Tasman bragging rights. At stake is the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.
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Australia has the trophy, named after two of Australia and New Zealand’s greatest cricketing families, after they beat the Black Caps by seven wickets in Nagpur during the 2011 World Cup. That, astonishingly, was the last time the two teams met, with one scheduled match between them in Birmingham (2013 Champions Trophy) ending in a no result because of rain.
The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy is played for in One-Day International matches between the two countries and was first contested in December 2004.
NRL is ‘high’ priority
There is a Cricket World Cup going on in Australia, but the tournament hardly got any mention in Monday’s Brisbane newspapers.
The Courier-Mail had less than one-and-half page on cricket in their 16-page sport section, but that’s because almost eight pages were taken up by what experts are calling ‘the’ biggest scandal to hit Queensland sport.
Three leading stars of NRL teams Queensland Reds and Gold Coast Titans – Karmichael Hunt, Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling have been charged with supplying cocaine, with police confirming some other big names are under investigation as well.
UAE visit a Brisbane icon
@EmiratesCricket at GABBA Brisbane @osn @Tykasports @Josh978UAE #CWC15 @ICC #GoUAE #UAE #Cricket #GoEmirati pic.twitter.com/RdrS9Oyatz
— UAE Cricket Official (@EmiratesCricket) February 23, 2015
After spending almost four hours at The Gabba on Monday, practicing on a hot and extremely humid day in Brisbane, the UAE team gave itself a perfect gift – a visit to the city’s iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel.
It was a steak dinner for the entire team and the back-room staff. ‘Brekky Creek’, as residents refer it to lovingly, is situated next to the Brisbane River and housed in a French Renaissance style house that was build in 1889.
Philander setback for Proteas
It has now been confirmed that the injury suffered by Vernon Philander during South Africa’s 130-run loss to India is a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, which rules him out for their Friday group match against the West Indies in Sydney.
Team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said: “The recovery period for a hamstring strain normally takes a week to 10 days which makes him unavailable for the match against the West Indies.”
He also added it was too early to tell if Philander will be available for the match against Ireland in Canberra next week.
