New Zealand Cricket

New Zealand

Founded

1930

The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 New Zealand had to wait until 1956, more than 26 years, for its first Test victory, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch. The current captain in all formats of the game is Kane Williamson, who replaced Brendon McCullum after the latter's retirement in December 2015. The national team is organised by New Zealand Cricket. The New Zealand cricket team became known as the Black Caps in January 1998, after its sponsor at the time, Clear Communications, held a competition to choose a name for the team. This is one of many national team nicknames related to the All Blacks. As of 14 July 2019, New Zealand have played 1319 international matches, winning 502, losing 597, tying 12 and drawing 165 matches while 43 matches ended yielding no result. The team is ranked 2nd in Tests, 3rd in ODIs and 6th in T20Is by the ICC. New Zealand defeated South Africa in the semi final of the 2015 World Cup, which was their first win in the a world cup semi final and hence they made their maiden appearance in a World Cup Final, but they ultimately lost to Trans-Tasman rivals Australia. In the next World Cup in 2019, New Zealand again reached the final which they agonisingly lost to the hosts England on boundary count after the match and the subsequent Super over both ended as ties.

South Africa Cricket

South Africa

Founded

1889

The South African national cricket team also known as Proteas (after South Africa's national flower, Protea cynaroides, commonly known as the ‘king protea’), is administered by Cricket South Africa. South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. South Africa entered first-class and international cricket at the same time when they hosted an England cricket team in the 1888–89 season. At first, the team was no match for Australia or England but, having gained in experience and expertise, they were able to field a competitive team in the first decade of the 20th century. The team regularly played against Australia, England and New Zealand through to the 1960s, by which time there was considerable opposition to the country's apartheid policy and an international ban was imposed by the ICC, commensurate with actions taken by other global sporting bodies. When the ban was imposed, South Africa had developed to a point where its team including Eddie Barlow, Graeme Pollock and Mike Procter was arguably the best in the world and had just outplayed Australia. The ban remained in place until 1991 and South Africa could then play against India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies for the first time. The team since reinstatement has mostly been strong and has at times held number one positions in international rankings but has lacked success in organised tournaments. Outstanding players since reinstatement have included Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Herschelle Gibbs, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Hashim Amla.