The History of the Tri-Series
The first Tri-Series took place in 2017 to 2018 and was known officially as the 2017/18 Trans-Tasman Tri-Series. It was contested between three major cricketing nations: England, Australia and New Zealand, and formed a conclusion to the Ashes Series that was held the same year.
The Ashes, which has been contested between England and Australia since 1882, is one of the oldest and the most celebrated cricket tournaments in the world. It is fiercely contested, with the winner claiming what amounts to one of the smallest trophies in the world of international sport. This “trophy” is actually a small urn that is said to contain the “ashes” of a burnt cricket ball.
In 2017-18, the Ashes was won by Australia, who whitewashed England. The Tri-Series took place afterwards, with New Zealand being added to the mix. The format was a group stage and then a final, and in this case it was New Zealand and Australia who contested the final, with the Aussies walking away as the eventual winners.
This first Tri-Series match was also preceded by a game between the Prime Minister’s XI, which is an Aussie team that is selected by the Australian Prime Minister, and England XI, which is the normal England cricket team. This is a tradition that dates back several decades and has nearly as much history as the Ashes itself. On this occasion the game was won by England, who comfortably won by 8 wickets following a short 20-over contest in the Aussie capital.
The Format of the Tri-Series
There is no set format or structure for the Tri-Series. The event that we discussed above was actually the first ever Tri-Series to be played by full ICC members, but more have occurred since. “Tri-Series” has simply become the name for a cricket competition that is contested by three cricketing nations, with an emphasis on those that are also full ICC members.
It may be played as part of a tour, it may not. However, due to the nature of international test cricket and the fact that teams only usually play outside of major events when they are touring, tour Tri-Series are more common. Typically, the events will follow a structure that was used during the inaugural Tri-Series, which is to say they will begin with a small group stage, after which the top two teams play each other in a final.
