Bilateral Series Which Are Named After Former Cricketers

Wisden Trophy will be retired at the end of the ongoing England-West Indies series after England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket West Indies announced all the future rubbers between the two sides’ will be named after the legendary duo of Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Ian Botham.

Of course, this is not the first time that in cricket, a series involving two teams is being named after former legends; there is a whole list of it. And, what better time than now to have a look at bilateral series named after former cricketers.

Here’s a look:

Warne-Muralitharan Trophy

Named after two of the greatest spinners and the top-2 leading wicket-takers in Test match- Shane Warne [708] and Muttiah Muralitharan [800]- the trophy came into existence during the 2007-08 Test series in Australia, to commemorate 25 years of Sri Lanka-Australia Test encounters.

Australia won the inaugural edition 2-0 and has since then largely dominated the rubber. While the Aussies won the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy four times- 2-0 in 2007, 1-0 in 2011 [in Sri Lanka], 2-0 in 2012-13 & 2-0 in 2019- Sri Lanka’s sole success came in 2016 when they whitewashed Steve Smith-led Australians 3-0.

Chappell Hadlee Trophy

The ODI series between Trans-Tasman rivals- Australia and New Zealand- is named after legendary cricket families from the two neighbors- the Chappell brothers [Ian, Greg and Trevor] and Walter Hadlee and his three sons [Barry, Dayle and Sir Richard Hadlee].

The first edition of the trophy was held in 2004-05 and till 2009-10, it used to be played on a regular basis. The series was contested as one-off encounters between the two sides during the group-stage fixtures of the 2011 and 2015 World Cup.

Australia has won a total of five titles as compared to New Zealand’s four. New Zealand, however, are the current holders of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy thanks to their 2-0 series win on home soil back in 2016.

The last two editions of the trophy have been scrapped for different reasons. While the 2017-18 edition made way for the Trans-Tasman T20I tri-series, this years’ series was scrapped due to the Covid-19 outbreak post the first ODI.

Sobers-Tissera Trophy

Named after Sir Garfield Sobers, probably the greatest all-rounded to have ever played the game and Michael Tissera, a stalwart of Sri Lankan domestic cricket who led the nation to an unofficial Test victory over India, the trophy came into existence during the 2015-16 West Indies tour of Sri Lanka.

Since then, two editions have been held- in Sri Lanka (2015-16) and the Caribbean (2018). While Sri Lanka won comprehensively in 2015-16 [2-0], the 2018 series turned out to be a hugely competitive one, ending in a 1-1 draw [3 Tests]. Sri Lanka are the current holders.

Basil D’Oliviera Trophy

44 Tests. 2484 runs at an average of 40.06 with 15 half-centuries and 5 hundreds. Despite these numbers, Basil D’Oliviera is still best remembered for that one incident which proceeded to change cricket forever.

Basil D’Oliviera got embroiled in a controversy when the South African administration under their legal racial segregation system said that no non-white player will be allowed to play on their country’s soil, thus preventing his entry in the rainbow nation for the 1967-68 series against England.

The tour was scrapped, kickstarting South Africa’s isolation in cricket. In 2004-05, the South Africa-England Test series was named after the former cricketer.

England has largely dominated the rubber, winning it four times as compared to South Africa, who has won on just two occasions- both in England (2008 & 2012).

England has won the past three Basil D’Oliviera series and two of those victories have come on South Africa soil- 2-1 in 2015/16 & 3-1 in 2019-20.

Pataudi Trophy

The Test series between India and England in India is named after a former administrator and one of the founding fathers of the BCCI, Anthony de Mello. Its first edition was played in 1951-52.

In 2007, India toured England for a three-match Test series followed by limited-overs Internationals. And, in order to commemorate what was the 75th anniversary of the first Test between the two countries, it was decided that future rubbers in England will be named after one of the greatest-ever Indian captain Late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.

India won the first edition in 2007 (1-0) but since then England has been far too good against the Men in Blue in their own conditions, winning the next three rubbers by comprehensive margins of 4-0 [2011], 3-1 [2014] and 4-1 in 2018.

Frank Worrell Trophy

The Test series between Australia and West Indies is named after former Windies legend and the first black captain of the Caribbean islands, Sir Frank Worrell.

The Trophy was first introduced in the 1960-61 rubber, the first Test of which ended in a tie. The trophy’s design incorporated a ball used in the tied Test.

The Trophy changed hands three times between 1960 to 1975 but since then it has been largely dominated by one side for an extended period of time. West Indies held the coveted prize from 1977-1992, a period which coincided with their period of dominance.

The inflection point came during the 1995 rubber when Mark Taylor’s Australian ended Windies’ two-decade reign with 2-1 series win on their home soil.

Since then, Australia and West Indies rubber has turned into a damp squib with the formers’ win a foregone conclusion. Overall, Australia has 24 series wins as compared to West Indies 14. Needless to say, the Aussies are the current holders of the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Border Gavaskar Trophy

Probably, the most popular of them- the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Named after two of the greatest cricketers that India and Australia have produced and the first two cricketers to score 10000 Test runs, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was introduced with a one off-Test between the two nations in Delhi back in 1996.

Since then, every series that these two teams have played have proceeded to display riveting and at times controversial Test match cricket.

India has largely dominated the rubber since its inception in 1996. Besides winning the one-off Test in Delhi and retaining the prize on Aussie soil [1-1 in 2003-04], India has won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on seven other occasions- 2-1 in 1998, 2-1 in 2001, 2-0 in 2008, 2-0 in 2010, 4-0 in 2013, 2-1 in 2017 and 2-1 in 2018-19 (on Australian soil)- as compared to Australia, who have won it five times- 3-0 in 1999/00, 2-1 in 2004 (in India), 2-1 in 2007/08, 4-0 in 2011/12 and 2-0 in 2014/15.

Both sides will once again lock horns later this year when India travel Down Under to defend their title.

Also Read: Vivian Richards ‘Honoured’ On Wisden Trophy Being Named After Him and Ian Botham