Australian Tri-Series


The Australian Tri-Series refers to the one day international cricket tournament held in Australia, and contested by Australia and two touring teams. The series is played during the height of the Australian cricket season, in the summer months of December, January and February. The series has been the primary format for international one-day cricket throughout most of the history of ODI cricket in Australia. The tri-series was first held in 1979–80 and was contested every season until 2007–08. It has since been held twice, in the 2011–12 season, and again in the 2014–15 season, prior to the World Cup and then the format was switched to Twenty20 International format for the first time in the 2017–18 season with Australia, New Zealand and England competing.

History

The concept of a three-team international series known as a 'tri-series' in cricket originated with the World Series Cricket program sponsored by Kerry Packer. Packer was keen to exploit what he saw as strong interest in ODI cricket, and staged long tri-series amongst teams from Australia, West Indies, and The Rest of the World in the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. These tournaments have never been awarded either One Day International or List A status.
When the World Series Cricket schism ended in 1979–80, the tri-series format was retained. Throughout its existence, the tournament was held as a series of One Day Internationals, featuring a round-robin played amongst the three teams, followed by a finals series played between the top two. The most common format over the years was that each team played each other four times in the round-robin, followed by a final decided by a best-of-three series, for a total of fourteen or fifteen ODIs played through the summer.
The basic format has been unchanged throughout the tri-series' history, but specific details have varied:
Over its duration, the series has taken on several mostly commercial names:
After the 2007–08 season, the tri-series format was abandoned. For three seasons, Australia still played ODIs against two touring teams, but these were staged as separate ODI series against a single opponent. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was still the naming rights sponsor of ODI cricket in Australia during these summers, so all series were still known as the Commonwealth Bank Series during this time.
The tri-series format returned in the 2011–12 season, but according to the ICC Future Tours Programme, this will not herald a permanent return to the format. A shortened tri-series of only seven matches was played in the 2014–15 season in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup in Australia. All series that Australia is scheduled to host up to the 2019–20 season will be played against a single opponent.

Results

Played mostly during a strong era for Australian cricket, Australia won twenty of the thirty-one tri-series played up to 2014–15. Australia failed to reach the finals on only three occasions. West Indies, who featured in the series frequently during the 1980s, was the next most successful team, winning six tournaments. Other international teams to win the tri-series were England, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

Tournament results by season

Notable moments in the Australian Tri-Series