NatWest Series
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NatWest Series is an annual one day international cricket tournament held in England involving the home side and two of the season's touring teams.
A series of usually nine matches are played across England at the six test match grounds; Lord's, London, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Headingley, Leeds, Old Trafford, Manchester, The Oval, London, Riverside, Durham and Trent Bridge, Nottingham plus other county grounds such at Canterbury, Cardiff and Bristol, with a final at Lord's.
The first NatWest Series was held in 2000 a year after England hosted the World Cup. The West Indies and Zimbabwe were the other two teams and it was Zimbabwe who actually got through the first final. England won by 6 wickets, with Darren Gough taking 3-20 and Alec Stewart scoring 97.
The tournament has been held each year since. The 2002 final was notable as England notched a big total of 326-8 with Nasser Hussain scoring 115, his only one day century and Marcus Trescothick also scoring 109. India overhauled the total thanks to Mohammad Kaif, 87 and Yuvraj Singh, 69.
In 2005 one of the biggest shocks ever in cricket was Bangladesh's victory over Australia in Cardiff. Mohammad Ashraful's century led them to victory. The final between Australia and England was a tie with both sides scoring 196 and sharing the trophy.
Here are the results of each of the NatWest Series.
- 2000 England (winners),Zimbabwe and West Indies
- 2001 Australia (winners), Pakistan and England
- 2002 India (winners), England and Sri Lanka
- 2003 England (winners) South Africa and Zimbabwe
- 2004 New Zealand (winners), West Indies and England
- 2005 Australia and England (shared winners) plus Bangladesh
In 2006 England will play each of the touring teams, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in one-day series rather than as a tri-nation tournament.
In the first One Day International, played at Lord's, Sri Lanka scored 257-9 in their 50 overs, with Upul Tharanga scoring a classy 120. England could only manage 237-9 from their 50 overs, with Marcus Trescothick and Jamie Dalrymple both top-scoring with 67.
