Daniel Luca Vettori is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand.
Brett Lee is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. With his time representing Australia, Lee won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, and the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Lee was the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the T20 format of the game which he did in 2007 ICC World Twenty20 in the inaugural tournament against Bangladesh, subsequently being the first bowler to do so at an ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Lee was also the first Australian bowler to take a hat-trick at a Cricket World Cup which he did in the 2003 Cricket World Cup Super Match game against Kenya.
Shane Edward Bond is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer and present bowling coach of Mumbai Indians, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee", and often among the greatest fast bowlers of his era. He represented New Zealand in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket and played for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket and Warwickshire in English domestic cricket. A right-arm fast bowler, his fastest recorded delivery was clocked at 156.4 km/h against India in the 2003 World Cup.
Craig Douglas McMillan is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He was a right-handed batsman and useful right-arm medium pace bowler and played for Canterbury in New Zealand first-class cricket. He also played English county cricket for Hampshire and Gloucestershire. McMillan was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy.
Nathan Michael Hauritz is a former Australian cricketer who has represented Australia in Tests, One-dayers and Twenty20 Internationals. He is mainly noted for his off spin bowling.
Kyle David Mills is a New Zealand cricket coach and former international cricketer who is the former bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was also a former captain of the New Zealand cricket team in limited-overs matches. Mills played top-class cricket between 1998 and 2015 as a bowler. He featured in three World Cup tournaments for New Zealand in 2003, 2011 and 2015. He was a member of New Zealand's first ever T20I team. He also topped the ICC ODI bowling rankings in 2009 and also occupied in the top ten bowling rankings among bowlers in ODI cricket for a considerable period of time.
Jeetan Shashi Patel is a former New Zealand international cricketer. A right arm off spin bowler, he plays for Wellington in New Zealand and Warwickshire in England. He is also the spin bowling coach for the England cricket team.
The West Indies cricket team toured New Zealand in February and March 2006 as part of the 2005–06 New Zealand cricket season.
Todd Duncan Astle is a former New Zealand cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. Astle began his cricket career as an opening batsman, representing New Zealand in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, but over time playing first-class cricket for Canterbury, he morphed into a bowling all-rounder. He made his Test cricket debut for New Zealand in 2012 in Sri Lanka, but did not play another international match until 2015. He represented New Zealand in all three forms of the game, but was unable to keep a consistent place in the team in any format because of regular injury problems and competition with other spin bowlers. In January 2020, Astle retired from first-class cricket to focus on limited-overs cricket. In February 2023 he retired from all forms of professional cricket.
Timothy Grant Southee, is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays for New Zealand cricket team in all formats of the game, captain in Tests and vice captain in T20Is. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman. The third New Zealand bowler to take 300 Test wickets, he was one of the country's youngest cricketers, debuting at the age of 19 in February 2008. On his Test debut against England he took 5 wickets and made 77 off 40 balls in the second innings. He plays for Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield, Ford Trophy and Super Smash as well as Northland in the Hawke Cup. He was named as New Zealand's captain for the first T20I against West Indies in place of Kane Williamson, who was rested for that game. The Blackcaps won that match by 47 runs. Southee was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.
The Sri Lankan cricket team toured New Zealand for cricket matches during the 2006–07 cricket season. It was the third successive season Sri Lanka visited New Zealand, after the 2005–06 tour was aborted and reschuled for the winter of 2005–06. Originally, the tour had been set to include three Tests and five One Day Internationals, but New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden announced in June that one of the Tests would be replaced with two Twenty20 Internationals.
The 2009 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia, and was part of the Australian cricket tour of England in 2009. Starting on 8 July 2009, England and Australia played five Tests, with England winning the series 2–1. England thus reclaimed The Ashes from Australia, who had won the previous series in 2006–07. Andrew Strauss became just the second England captain in 20 years, alongside Michael Vaughan in 2005, to win the Ashes.
The 2004–05 Chappell–Hadlee Trophy was the first edition of Chappell–Hadlee Trophy, a three-match ODI series between Australia and New Zealand. It was played from 5 to 10 December 2004 as part of New Zealand tour of Australia.
The Bangladesh cricket team toured New Zealand between 19 December 2007 and 16 January 2008 to play three one day internationals (ODIs) and two Test matches. This was the second Bangladeshi tour to New Zealand and the third series between the two countries following New Zealand's 2004–05 tour to Bangladesh. The teams also met in the pool stage of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and at the Super 8 stage of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Cricket is the most popular summer sport in New Zealand, second only in total sporting popularity to rugby. New Zealand is one of the twelve countries that take part in Test match cricket.
The South Africa cricket team toured Australia between 6 December 2008 and 30 January 2009, playing three Test matches, two Twenty20 Internationals and five One Day Internationals against Australia.
The West Indies cricket team toured New Zealand between 5 December 2008, and 13 January 2009. They played two Test matches, two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and five One Day Internationals (ODIs) against the hosts, plus a three-day match against State Championship side Auckland. This was the first series between the sides since the West Indies toured New Zealand in 2005–06; their previous meeting was in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
The final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup took place on 29 March 2015 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It was played between the tournament's two co-hosts, New Zealand and Australia. Australia went into the game as favourites and won by 7 wickets for a fifth World Cup triumph. The match was played in front of 93,013 spectators, a record crowd for a day of cricket in Australia.
The New Zealand cricket team toured Australia from 18 November – 13 December 2011. The tour consisted of two Tests played for the Trans-Tasman Trophy.
