Bangladesh’s match against New Zealand on Friday 9 June will only be the second ODI match they have played in Cardiff, with the first coming in 2005 when they beat Australia by five wickets. Mohammed Ashraful scored a century during the match and is one of only four players to have scored ODI 100s in Cardiff.
As Cardiff Wales Stadium (Sophia Gardens) celebrates its 50th year as a cricket venue and home to Glamorgan CCC, preparations are underway to host four matches in this summer’s ICC Champions Trophy.
The 19 ODI matches hosted there have seen 7623 runs scored there, so in June Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan all have the chance to contribute to taking the total over 10,000 runs. Could the milestone come during the Semi Final on Wednesday 14 June? If so, which team will the player be from?
OPPOSITION WATCH – NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand’s match against Bangladesh will be their last group match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign and will see them play in Cardiff for the sixth time, having won on three occasions which includes their match against Sri Lanka at the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. They played in the first ODI to be hosted there in 1999 when they beat Australia by five wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup. With two back to back matches at the ground during the tournament, they will be looking to make it a temporary home.
Currently ranked third in the world in the ICC Rankings, New Zealand will visit Ireland ahead of the start of the tournament to take part in a Tri-Series along with Bangladesh, who they will face again in Cardiff on Friday 9 June.
A LOOK BACK AT ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2013
Similar to this year, Cardiff was one of three venues used to host ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Other than one match during the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999, this was the first time the ground was used as part of a major global tournament.
As well as the opening match between India and South Africa, Cardiff hosted three further group matches and the second Semi-Final.
Results:
- India beat South Africa by 26 runs
- New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 1 wicket
- South Africa v West Indies – match tied
- England beat New Zealand by 10 runs
- India beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets
The five matches saw 2,184 balls bowled and 2,024 runs scored.
331/7 was the highest team total, which was set by India against South Africa
114 was the highest individual score, scored by India’s Shikhar Dhawan (this was one of only three centuries scored during the tournament)
182 was the highest individual cumulative score, scored India’s Shikhar Dhawan (114 against South Africa and 68 against Sri Lanka)
4 was the highest number of wickets in a match, taken by Mitchell McClenaghan and Kyle Mills (New Zealand) and Lasith Malinga
7 was the highest number of cumulative wickets, taken by New Zealand’s Mitchell McClenaghan (4 against Sri Lanka and 3 against England)
DID YOU KNOW?...
Sophia Gardens was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings who was wife to the second Marquess of Bute, after she called for open recreational space in a rapidly expanding town
Prior to the cricket ground, the area housed Sophia Gardens Pavilion which was built for the 1951 Festival of Britain. It was a popular music venue which saw acts such as Tom Jones and Pink Floyd perform there
In 2009 Sophia Gardens became the 100th Test cricket venue when it hosted the opening match of the 2009 Ashes series. James Anderson and Monty Panesar performed the great escape to help secure a draw
CARDIFF’S ODI RECORDS
India were the first international side to play at the ground when they played Glamorgan in 1967 as the opening fixture and they have been the dominant ODI international side when they play there ever since. They currently hold the following records:
Highest ODI score (team): 331/7 scored against South Africa during ICC Champions Trophy 2013
Highest ODI score (individual): 114 scored by Shikhar Dhawan (India) during ICC Champions Trophy 2013
Most cumulative ODI runs scored (individual): 196 scored by Virat Kohli (India) in four matches between 2011 and 2014
Most ODI wickets: 8 taken by Ravindra Jadeja (India) in four matches between 2011 and 2014
Best ODI bowling figures: 4 for 28 taken by Ravindra Jadeja (India) against England in 2014
Plus three of the four ODI centuries scored at the venue have been by Indian players (Dhawan, Kohli and Raina). Will any of these records tumble during ICC Champions Trophy 2017?