New_Zealand_cricket_team_in_Australia_in_2019–20
New Zealand cricket team in Australia in 2019–20
International cricket tour
The New Zealand cricket team toured Australia in November and December 2019 to play three Test matches. The Test series was played for the Trans-Tasman Trophy and formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.[5][6] The first Test was a day/night match at the Perth Stadium.[7] Cricket Australia confirmed the fixtures for the tour in May 2019.[8][9] New Zealand returned to Australia in March 2020 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches for the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy.[7]
In the first Test, Aleem Dar of Pakistan stood in his 129th Test match as an on-field umpire, surpassing Jamaican Steve Bucknor's record of officiating in the most Test matches.[10] Ahead of the fourth day of the second Test match, Australia's Peter Siddle announced his retirement from international cricket.[11] Australia won the first two Test matches to take an unassailable lead,[12] and therefore retaining the Trans-Tasman Trophy.[13] Australia won the third and final Test match by 279 runs, therefore winning the series 3–0.[14] It was the first time that New Zealand had been whitewashed in a three-match Test series in Australia.[15] During the third Test, Ross Taylor went past Stephen Fleming's career total of 7,172 runs to become the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Test cricket.[16]
Ahead of the first ODI, Cricket Australia confirmed that all three ODIs would be played without crowd attendance,[17] in an attempt to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] Despite the first ODI being played, the second and third ODIs were called off on 14 March 2020, as a result of new travel restrictions being implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[19] Both Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket have expressed their interest to reschedule the remaining ODI matches at a later date.[20] On 28 May 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed the fixtures for a rescheduled three match ODI series against New Zealand in January and February 2021.[21][22]