Australia Favorites in Chappell-Hadlee After Opening Win Over New Zealand

There are few greater rivalries in sport than New Zealand vs. Australia.

The two nations from down under love to punch above their weight when it comes to sporting achievements on the global stage, and for New Zealand, there’s no greater joy than defeating big brother Australia in any form of competition.

That’s what makes the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy so special—a cricket trophy, named after the nations’ best cricketers, that is competed for between the two countries on a semi-regular basis.

One game into the three-match series, however, and it is Australia who are on track to win the trophy after going 1-0 up yesterday. We look at how this match unfolded and the impact of this on the bookies odds for tomorrow’s match.

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy: What’s at Stake

Ever since 2004, New Zealand and Australia have contested the Chappell-Hadlee trophy in the one day international format of cricket.

Named after some of the nations’ greatest players—Australia’s Ian, Gregory, and Trevor Chappell, and New Zealand’s Walter, Barry, Dayle, and Sir Richard Hadlee, winning and retaining the Chappell-Hadlee trophy is a matter of pride between Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to the covid-19 pandemic, and with the exception of World Cup years, the trophy has been competed for annually, with 13 three or five-match series since its conception in 2004.

In that time, Australia have won six times, New Zealand four, and three draws.

The latest series was won by Australia in 2019-2020 1-0, and with World Cups and the pandemic interrupting the competition’s regular schedule, it is over five years since New Zealand last won the trophy, in 2016-2017.

First Chappell-Hadlee 2022 ODI: How It Unfolded

Yesterday saw the first fixture played out in the 2022 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, with Australia coming away the victors.

Australia won the toss, and sent New Zealand into bat, opting to have a bowl in what felt like optimal conditions in this day-night match in Cairns.

After losing Martin Guptill cheaply for 6 off 19, the Black Caps built a solid partnership between Devon Conway and Kane Williamson, with each batter reaching the mid-forties and the side getting through to 91/1 off 22.4 overs. When Conway departed for 46 off 68, several more solid partnerships continued however, with Tom Latham coming to the crease and adding 43 off 57, and Daryl Mitchell contributing 26 off 33.

However, a slow scoring rate became an issue, particularly when New Zealand began to lose wickets when they attempted to accelerate. At 186/4 from 41.4 overs, New Zealand then slipped to 232/9 off their full 50 overs, failing to string together partnerships or capitalize on the death overs well. Glenn Maxwell was pivotal in restricting the Black Caps to a subpar total, taking four wickets for 52 runs off his 10 overs.

Australia then responded by getting themselves in a significant hole. David Warner struck 20 of 25, but outside of that, none of the top five batters passed five runs, with the side slipping to 27/4 and 44/5 off 11.6 overs courtesy of Trent Boult and Matt Henry dominating with the new ball. However, the match-winning partnership then ensued, with both Alex Carey and Cameron Green striking scores of 85+, with the latter remaining not out off 92 balls.

A handful of late wickets fell, to take Australia from 202/5 to 207/8, but it wasn’t enough, as the Australians managed to get across the line with five overs to spare, finishing on 233/8 to claim the opening match.

Australia Favorites Heading into Game Two Tomorrow

Off the back of Australia’s win in the first Chappell-Hadlee match yesterday, they now head into the trophy’s second match tomorrow, favorites to win.

Bookmakers have Australia at a Moneyline of -196 to come away victors tomorrow, a win that would see them gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the trophy as well. New Zealand, on the other hand, are +140 to square the series tomorrow.

Surprisingly, the stars from Australia’s win yesterday aren’t expected to shine again, with David Warner and Steve Smith the two frontrunners to top score for Australia. Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill lead the run-scoring odds for New Zealand, despite Guptill’s failure yesterday.

Tune in tomorrow to find out whether or not New Zealand square the series and take the Chappell-Hadlee trophy to a deciding match.