Women's World T20: As New Zealand take on Australia, a look at the history of trans-Tasman rivalry

After one rivalry with a deep and storied history played out on Sunday between India and Pakistan, the Guyana National Stadium will host another on Tuesday, 13 November, when New Zealand face neighbours Australia.

Both teams have had contrasting draws in this tournament, and therefore very different starts. Australia started their tournament against Pakistan and then Ireland, both ranked in the bottom half of the ICC T20I Team Rankings. They duly secured two confidence-boosting wins, with their top order looking in ominous form, Alyssa Healy in particular.

New Zealand had no such luck, drawing India and Australia in their first two matches. In the first, they ran into a special innings from Harmanpreet Kaur, and that now have their campaign on a knife’s edge. A loss will almost certainly see them fail to make the semifinals, a repeat of the 2014 performance they would like to forget.

An unique rivalry

So the context of the tournament makes this clash all the more mouth-watering, but even if they were both starting from a clean slate, there is so much history that complements the high-quality cricket both teams play.

The two countries may be separated by the Tasman Sea, but are joined at the hip in many ways. For instance: in their game against Ireland on Sunday, some Australia players wore a symbol of a red poppy on their kits, to celebrate Remembrance Day, commemorating those who lost their lives in World War I. While this is common to many Commonwealth nations, Australia and New Zealand together celebrate Anzac Day on 25 April, to commemorate the citizens of both countries who have laid down their lives in combat.

Since the two are somewhat geographically separated from the rest of the world, their proximity has seen them play each other often, which has led to rivalries developing across sports. Perhaps the most well known exists in Rugby Union, where the All Blacks have a strong edge over the Wallabies. In netball, the New Zealand Silver Ferns and the Australia Diamonds have a history of playing tightly contested games. And in men’s cricket, the Black Caps compete with Australia for the Trans-Tasman Trophy in Tests, and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in ODIs.

More than a group game

So when the White Ferns meet the Southern Stars, it’s more than just a Group B game. Since 1985, the two sides have faced each other in bilateral ODIs competing for the Rose Bowl Trophy. Australia have a strong advantage in that series, having won 73 of the 100 ODIs played. They have had a stranglehold on the Rose Bowl since 1999, including two 11-game winning streaks, one from February 2004 to July 2007, and one from February 2009 to January 2012.

Overall, Australia have been beaten by New Zealand in only 31 of the 123 ODIs the sides have played; one of those was in the final of the 2000 World Cup, the only time New Zealand have won a global title.

In T20Is, the balance is tipped in favour of the Kiwis. In fact, New Zealand are one of only two teams in the world with a positive win ratio against Australia, but only just. Of the 38 T20Is the teams have played, New Zealand have won 19, and Australia 18. But out of the four times the two have met within ICC Women’s World T20s, New Zealand have won three times.

The one loss was the one that mattered though; it came in the epic final of the 2010 edition, which was then too hosted by the West Indies. Most remember it for its final ball: Ellyse Perry’s boot denied Sophie Devine a boundary that would have sent the game into a Super Over.

Tuesday’s clash will see some record breaking players face each other: On the way to her 67 runs against India, Suzie Bates became the highest scorer in ICC Women’s World T20s, taking her tally of 787 runs past England’s Charlotte Edwards. She has 576 T20I runs this calendar year, just the third woman to breach the 500 mark. At the top of that list is Australia captain Meg Lanning, who scored 625 runs in 2014.

In their last match, Australia’s Healy scored the fastest T20I fifty in tournament history (off just 21 balls), and second fastest ever. That record is held by New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, who has a fifty of just 18 balls to her name.

Form is certainly with the Aussies, who are tournament favourites. New Zealand have lost their last three T20Is to Australia, and with a number of young players in their ranks, look less settled than their neighbours. They will be looking for a back-to-the-wall performance, considering they are in a virtual knock-out match. As Perry said after their game against Ireland, “Sport is an amazing thing and results surprise people at times.”

(The article was first published on icc-cricket.com)