On this day: New Zealand and Australia play behind closed doors

The year 2020 wasn’t good for the entire world and the game of cricket was no different as the fear of the novel coronavirus gripped the celebrated sport. Since the second half of 2020, when the cricket boards resumed the gentleman’s game after an abrupt halt, the cricket games have been played in a biosecure bubble with no spectators or 50 or 25 per cent of the audience.

However, the Test series between England and West Indies that marked the return of cricket after six months in July 2020 wasn’t the first fixture to be played behind closed doors. The first One Day International of the three-match series between New Zealand and Australia, hosted at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 13, 2020, was the first game that was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 threat.

The first ODI between Australia & New Zealand is being played closed doors. #AUSvsNZ #CoronavirusPandemic pic.twitter.com/j6tpbD3gH2

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) March 13, 2020

It was the first time that the cricket fraternity saw the players doing virtual handshakes, fist-bumps, and elbow tucks to avoid any physical contact in the fear of COVID-19. The game commenced with home captain Aaron Finch winning the toss and electing to bat first. In the first innings, Australia managed to put a comprehensive total of 258 runs on the board while losing just seven wickets.

Australia had a decent start to their innings as the opening pair of Finch and David Warner stitched a crucial partnership of 124 runs on the scoreboard while surviving on the pitch for 24.1 overs. Pacer Lockie Ferguson gave the first breakthrough to the Black Caps by scalping the wicket of Warner, who went back to the pavilion after scoring 67 runs. He was soon followed by Finch who added 60 runs. Apart from the opening duo, Marnus Labuschagne contributed positively by playing a knock of 56 runs.

For the visitors, Ferguson and Mitchell Santner took two wickets each while the spinner Ish Sodhi was the highest wicket-taker with three scalps under his belt.

In reply to 259 runs by Australia, New Zealand collapsed at just 187 runs within 41 overs as apart from Martin Guptill and wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Latham, who scored 40 and 38 runs respectively, no other batsman took responsibility to score runs for the team. The Kiwis were never in the chase as they were completely outplayed by Australia’s bowling attack.

Pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh were the picks of the bowlers with three wickets each under their belt while Josh Hazelwood and spinner Adam Zampa had two each.

While the first One Day International between the two teams resulted in Australia winning the game by 71 runs, the next two games were abandoned in the fear of the novel Coronavirus.