ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

February 11, 2015

David Richardson

Therese Walsh

David White

DAVID WHITE: My name is David White, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket. I'd like to welcome you here this morning, both New Zealand media and visitors from overseas, as well. I'd like to provide a warm welcome to the gentleman on my right, David Richardson, ICC CEO, and also very familiar to many of you as an outstanding South African cricketer in his own right, and also Therese Walsh to the right, who heads the New Zealand operation for the Cricket World Cup. Just before I make a few comments, just to give you an idea of what the structure is, we are co‑hosting the tournament with Australia, so how that works is we have board representatives from New Zealand Cricket and Australia Cricket and an independent, and we have a local organising committee split between Australia and New Zealand headed by John Harnden in Australia, and Therese heads the New Zealand operation. Delighted to have Therese on board, and I've got to say that from New Zealand Cricket's point of view, having Therese so influential and involved in Rugby World Cup has made the planning and preparation for this tournament so much easier. The key learnings from that tournament, and also a number of the staff that actually worked on Rugby World Cup, as well, are working on it. So from New Zealand Cricket's point of view, we are very comfortable with where we are in terms of planning and organization, and I think, Dave, I think the ICC are, as well. We welcome all the countries to New Zealand. This is a great opportunity for us. It's a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to showcase cricket in our country. We've worked very hard over the last 18 months, not only on the field but also off the field. We've worked closely with Therese, and we've worked very hard on making sure that this is not a one‑off and working on legacy benefits for the future. I spoke a lot to Steve Chu from NZRU about the key learnings that they had from Rugby World Cup and things that they could have done better and what they did do well so that we've got legacy benefits. And when you talk about legacy, I spoke the most tangible thing you can see is the development of Hagley Oval. From New Zealand Cricket's point of view we'd just like to thank the government and Therese and all those involved in its development. It's just fantastic. Having that Boxing Day Test match was just wonderful. Great to see all the children from the Canterbury region going to watch international cricket again for the first time in eight years, and that's something that's really been sadly missed by New Zealand Cricket over that eight‑year period. So for us it's a big step forward. Other grounds around the country have been developed or upgraded, as well, which is a positive legacy, as well as a lot of initiatives that we have developed in conjunction with the government have been tremendously supportive. We've got a Cricket Smart programme, which is an education module that's gone out to over 1,300 schools in New Zealand, and it's been hugely successful. And the other big legacy is the upscaling of staff and people so that moving forward we've got a platform where we can really grow cricket. The obvious legacy actually is the crowd support, and it's great to see, you go around the beaches and the parks and things and kids playing cricket and families playing cricket. We've worked really hard, the team has worked really hard on engaging with the public. It's something that we probably haven't done as well as we could have, but we've tried to make the team a lot more accessible to the public and our media partners, and I think that's on the back, as well, of very good team support this summer and last summer. It's really gotten momentum in the country, and there's a real buzz in New Zealand at the moment, and we just can't wait for the tournament to start. On the field, Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum and the team have planned well. I know that they are really excited. They're embracing it, and they can't wait for it to start. So finally, well, for us, it's all about to start, and it's been a lot of planning, but we are really excited, and we are embracing the opportunity. I'd just like to hand over to Dave. Thank you.

DAVID RICHARDSON: Thanks, David. Welcome to all of you from the ICC. Certainly we're very excited to be here for the event itself now. I'm sorry to say that I've only been to Christchurch twice before, once in 1996 with the South African team. We played a game at Lancaster Park I think it was called, and again in 2001 when I had just joined the ICC and I came with the event CEO to meet with the England and New Zealand teams as sort of a get‑to‑know session and spent only a day here. When driving from the airport last night to the hotel, it was only really once we crossed the river there that the full extent of what the people of Christchurch had been through with the disasters of the earthquakes sort of hit me, and I'd like to think that the decision to stage the first match in Christchurch is just a small token of appreciation for what the people of Christchurch have been through and an acknowledgment of the work that has already taken place and I'm sure will continue to take place over the years to come. I have yet to go to Hagley Oval in the daytime. I've seen pictures of it on TV and on the internet, et cetera. It looks a fantastic little stadium, and I'm sure we'll see some good cricket. We're just praying for the good weather to hold. As David says, the ICC is delighted with the state of readiness, really, for this competition. The ICC, yes, we have an anti‑corruption team and we have cricket umpire and referees, managers, commercial teams, but actually our event department consists of four people, so we rely heavily on the hosts, Cricket Australia, Cricket New Zealand, and of course the LOC in New Zealand headed up very ably by Therese to put on everything that you see here for this tournament, and really, I think going back now three World Cups in my time at the ICC, this is probably the best prepared we've ever been, as I said, from the anti‑corruption side, security side, to the playing facilities, the nets for the players. Really everybody has left no stone unturned, and delighted to be in this position, not going into the tournament having to cross fingers. So well done to all of you and your team, and we're certainly looking forward to it. A lot of people say that maybe this tournament is going to lack a few hall‑of‑famers, the likes of a Tendulkar, Lara, Shane Warne, these kind of people, but actually if you look around in the one‑day game in particular these days, every team are blessed with some actually remarkable talents, and I believe that we're probably in the midst of a number of players that for years to come are going to be recognized as all‑time greats. You know, just in the New Zealand team you look at McCullum and Taylor, they can change the course of a game. South Africa, my team, have got a few AB de Villiers and Steyn and these guys, and every team has got somebody, the West Indies, Gayle and Samuels, that can change the course of a game, and I think that we're in for some tremendous cricket. Probably the most open of World Cups that we've had. Any of six, seven teams, perhaps even an eighth team that could realistically believe it has a chance of winning this tournament, and that's always a good omen for the tournament looking ahead. It is a big tournament from a player's point of view, an umpire's point of view. It can define your career if you perform well, and it certainly can even define a country or a nation. We are looking forward to it tremendously. It's the single biggest ‑‑ it's the second biggest single sport event of its kind. It will be broadcast in over 200 territories. We may have mentioned a huge potential viewership figure. We expect that to be exceeding 2.5 billion people. It's broadcast in seven languages, including Italian, which I found out yesterday, so I'm not sure who will be watching it in Italy because the biggest fan of Italian cricket is actually coming to the tournament here, so that's a first for us, and certainly we like to tell the New Zealanders anyway that it's much bigger than the Rugby World Cup. With those few words, Therese, over to you for a few comments.

THERESE WALSH: Thank you, David and David. I'm the only non‑David here at the press conference. Look, I'd just like to start by saying I know that we're three days until the opening match, but for us really the tournament starts tomorrow. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony here in New Zealand and in Australia for the Cricket World Cup, and it's a big event. I'll come back to that in a moment. But thank you to David and the ICC. I think they've essentially given us the tournament to run here, and they've been very supportive. I think, as well, to David's comments before that support around the allocation of matches in New Zealand, the need for New Zealand to have a very good share of this tournament which we have almost half the matches, and for Christchurch to have the sort of starring role I think has been very important, and they could see that right from the outset, so thank you. To David White, I think that the timing of this, you know, we talk about the planets being in alignment, well, I think they are, and I think that David and his team at New Zealand Cricket really are in such a great space. The team is playing well, the organization of New Zealand Cricket is in great shape, and so I think to have this kind of boost in terms of legacy and something for the nation to focus on is just fantastic timing. We do start with the opening ceremony tomorrow. The opening ceremony is going to be spectacular. It is going to be broadcast live around the world to all the people that David mentioned. It's going to feature some of New Zealand's key talent, and it's going to be a showcase of all that's great about New Zealand, but being about welcoming the other 13 countries to New Zealand from around the world that are participating. So we're looking forward to seeing Hayley Westenra, Sole Mio, Ginny Blackmore, and Shapeshifter among others as well as a whole lot of high profile New Zealanders who will take to the stage in their theater debut, and of course welcoming all those teams, so there will be a good representation of teams there tomorrow night. It is at north Hagley Park. It is a free event. We want as many people from around Christchurch and New Zealand to be there as possible, and it's going to be quite spectacular, and I know that David Richardson is very much looking forward to making his stage debut tomorrow night. We of course move to the opening match on Saturday. As people are aware, it is a sold‑out match. The weather has come right for us, and we're looking forward to a great day, so I think it's going to be quite spectacular. For those of you who haven't seen Hagley Oval since Boxing Day, it will look quite different. There are a number of temporary stands that have been erected. There's a lot of dressing. It looks very, very sharp and ready for the opening day, and for that opening match, I think we're going to see something quite spectacular. It's going to look different. It looks like a mini‑stadium in the middle of Christchurch. I'm just very, very proud of what's been achieved here. When you look across the tournament and its whole and New Zealand, we do have many games across seven different cities. I've been asked about ticket sales quite a lot recently, and as everyone is aware, the Black Caps' matches have sold very, very fast, and with the exception of a few tickets here and there, they are largely sold, with the exception of New Zealand versus Afghanistan, and there are still some good tickets available. Outside of that, though, tickets are still selling well to the non‑Black Cap games, so as of today, and of course these things move every minute, but as of right at this second, we've sold almost 300,000 tickets across the tournament in New Zealand, which is a significant number when you take into account the fact that New Zealand is a World Cup sort of audience in terms of its sport, and we've got just over 400,000 tickets available, so we're well on our way, and we haven't had a ball bowled yet. It's in really good shape. As of this morning for West Indies‑Ireland, which is being played in Nelson and does not involve the Black Caps, I think if you get in in the next five minutes, you might get the last four tickets, but other than that, that game is certainly very much sold. Look, there are still tickets available. Pakistan versus West Indies in Christchurch, Sri Lanka versus England in Wellington, those are some of our top clashes that don't involve the Black Caps. They are selling well but there are still very good tickets available, so certainly get in if you can. So some really amazing clashes. I think one of the things for me that really stands out in terms of those ticket sales and where we're hitting with the tournament are those four matches in Auckland, which includes the semifinal and the epic clash of Australia versus New Zealand. I think we're going to do a pretty good job of filling up Eden Park four times in a row, and for cricket that's a really amazing outcome, and I think it just shows the interest in the tournament. We've got South Africa playing Pakistan, we've got India playing Zimbabwe, and we don't know who's in the semifinal, but I think any combination at that semifinal stage will be spectacular, and people are responding accordingly with ticket sales. So we're looking forward to something very special. I think the other thing that is outside of the ground is that all of the seven host cities in New Zealand are going all out to put on something that's a bit special. It's not just about the cricket and the venue, it's about welcoming the teams, having official welcome ceremonies. It's about having festival‑type activities in those cities, fan trails, fan zones, et cetera, so more people than can fit into a venue can enjoy the spectacle. I feel the buzz in the air. I certainly feel it here in Christchurch. I think it's going to be quite spectacular over the next few days, and I thank David and David for their willingness to let this happen here, and to the team of New Zealand Cricket and Cricket World Cup and ICC for all their hard work. So thank you.

Q. Mr. Richardson, from the ICC's perspective you obviously mentioned corruption. How much of it has gone into rooting that out of this contest, and how successful do you feel you've been in terms of the likes of match fixing?
DAVID RICHARDSON: I think the preparations that our anti‑corruption unit have put into this tournament far exceed previous tournaments. That's mainly due to the increase in the intelligence that they call it, the information that they have got at their fingertips. They've got a far better idea of who these people are that travel the world trying to influence players, umpires, curators to try and get some sort of benefit on the betting side. So it's been three years in the planning now with working with the law enforcement agencies both in New Zealand and Australia to put in a joint effort, both from an intelligence point of view but also from a preventional disruption point of view. I think we are the best placed ever as far as preventing any fixing, making it very difficult. I think if anybody has even attempted to try and approach players they'll find it very difficult. The players I think have been tremendous over the last couple of years, certainly the last 12 months, in really acknowledging their responsibility towards fighting the sickness in the game. We're finding that we're getting so many more approaches from the players, even approaches that would on the face of it be very innocent approaches, which shows that they're taking to heart the education that they receive in this regard, and they realize the threat that does exist. As I say, the fight really against those corrupt guys who travel the world rather than the players, but we need the players to help us, and they've responded very well. So we're in a very good position.

Q. Can you guarantee there will be no influence of those corrupt people in this tournament?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Well, you can never guarantee anything, but certainly I suppose with all law enforcement type strategies, the strategy of disruption prevention is what's important, and I think we've done all that we can to make sure, certainly, to minimise the risk.

Q. Can you just talk a little bit about the crackdown on the sledging and what impact you think it will have on the tournament, if any?
DAVID RICHARDSON: I think a fair amount has been written about this recently. It's more a crackdown that started a few months back with some unacceptable behavior that was witnessed in one of the Ashes Series back in England. I think the majority of the players and the majority of the teams actually play the game in the correct spirit, and not just because I'm sitting here in New Zealand, but New Zealand in particular are one of the teams that I think play the game in a very good way, always respecting the opposition, respecting themselves, respecting the umpires, and a number of teams are like that, Sri Lanka, South Africa, even the West Indies most of the time. Yes, there's the odd show of dissent, but who doesn't get upset when you get a bad decision. But generally, as I say, the behavior is good. So yes, there are some teams that take it to the edge, some players that regularly might overstep the mark, and those players, the team briefings have taken place over the last few days and will take place over the next two. The message has been, guys, you need to be aware of your responsibility, and if you overstep the mark, the umpires will step in, and hopefully the penalties will be a little bit more severe or heavier than they might have been in the past to make sure that these serial offenders are aware of their responsibility.

Q. Therese, do you have an actual number of tickets that was your target?
THERESE WALSH: It's just over 400,000, of which, as of today, we are sitting just shy of 300,000. So getting close to 75 percent.

Q. And to David Richardson, in terms of the wickets from an ICC perspective, are you happy with where they're at? And also, do you have any influence over them in terms of what you would like curators to be coming up with?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Very happy with where they're at. We've got a pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, who has worked with us at all our tournaments over the last 10, 12 years, and his report is very favorable, very positive. No specific direction. There's a general direction given to all the groundsmen; we want wickets that generally favor the batting team, you know, to some extent, without being 100 percent in favor of the batsmen, so we're looking scores at between 240, 280 generally, but we recognize that it's not an exact science, and actually a balance between bat and ball is what we require. But no specific direction as to amount of grass left on the pitch or it should favor spinners or be of a particular place, just a good cricket wicket, hopefully a lot of runs generally, and fair to both teams whether you win or lose the toss. That's the aim.

Q. I know it's perhaps another negative, but the security aspect, has that been addressed satisfactorily from the ICC, and also the local organizers' likings?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Yes, certainly from our perspective, the global threat, global security threat is an issue, but I think that the plans that have been put in place, a very good security team set up for this tournament, both here and in Australia, and I think the plans are there's no direct threat to the tournament itself. It's more just a general threat, and although that might be slightly higher than it's been in the past, the plans in place certainly we believe are appropriate for that level of threat that exists.

Q. Mr. Richardson, the two new rules that are in place, do you think probably after the World Cup one of these rules may go out because at some point it becomes very difficult for the slower bowlers to come into play because two new balls and maximum four fielders outside the ring, so how do you look at the two new rules in the World Cup?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Well, it's a fact that our cricket committee meets in May after the World Cup, and they will look at the playing regulations for one‑day cricket. My personal view is that the two playing regulations have worked actually extremely well. The one‑day cricket is probably a benefit, also, from the T20 format, but that combined with the regulations has led to a far more attacking game, certainly far less predictable. We had a big problem with one‑day cricket where you had the quick start maybe and then that period in the middle of the game where the ones and twos were accumulated and then a big bash at the end, and every game seemed to follow that same pattern, and the regulations seem to have changed that, and it's become certainly far more attacking, there are more boundaries being scored, but also from a bowling perspective and a captaincy perspective, the days of being able to contain and keep the score down that way are gone, and you have to be more attacking, you have to take wickets to try and keep the score under control. So I think it's led to a far more attacking game all around. As far as spinners are concerned, I think it's a little bit of a fallacy that the regulations go against spinners only. In fact, in a number of even higher scoring games you often see that the spinner is the most effective of the bowlers. Vettori has shown that; Ben has shown that in South Africa recently; even though AB de Villiers was scoring his record‑breaking knock, I think he only went for about 45 in his 10 overs. So I don't think that the rules are prejudicial to spinners in particular, but as I say, these will both be debated at our cricket committee meeting, and take it from there.

Q. Can I just ask you one more question. Do you feel that the World Cup is a little too stretched out? Could it have been made a little tighter because there are probably six‑day gaps between games of sides. Could it have been made a little tighter?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Of course it's more difficult for cricket than other games like rugby or football where you can have two, three games in one day, and obviously for our broadcast licenses, they would prefer that the number of days where we have two matches in one day is kept down to a minimum. So it's going to drag out. If you've got 49 matches, it's going to take a reasonable amount of time. I'd also like to say that, you know, cricket is a longer game than these other sports, and the tournament is going to take longer. It's probably long for some people who are working on cricket day in and day out and might feel it a little bit, but for the fan and for the player, really these World Cups actually go by all too quickly, and before you know it, it's finished. The World Cup itself is a lot shorter than many Bilateral Series, so I don't think it's really a problem for the fan. They're just looking forward to their team's matches. As far as I'm not concerned, not too much of an issue.

THERESE WALSH: Can I just add, it's the same length of time as the Rugby World Cup, and we found that that engagement stayed throughout, and we've tactically put blockbusters every weekend in sort of the scattered throughout, and it's tactical to make sure that we keep that interest and keep the performance and the results moving so that you see different things at different times.

Q. Therese, how important are sold‑out venues throughout New Zealand for you?
THERESE WALSH: Look, it's important that we've got full grounds, and it's important that New Zealand as a host country are supporting more than the Black Caps, so obviously as a country we want to get behind the Black Caps and we'd love them to do as well as they possibly could. But at the same time we are hosts. We are hosting this tournament with Australia, and we need to be supporting other teams, and also being interested in other results. For me, I mentioned England versus Sri Lanka in Wellington. New Zealand is actually in the same pool as England and Sri Lanka. It's going to be really important in terms of where we might end up at the end of the pool round what happens in that clash. So there's that kind of performance angle to it, and there's also the support angle in terms of adopting other teams, so we've got a team like Scotland, they're in Dunedin for two matches, so we're trying to create sort of that hub and that feel. But I'd like to think we'll have good support. Certainly the ticket sales are heading in the right direction but there's a ways to go, and we want grounds to look as full as possible and for people to be enjoying themselves, and for the visiting teams to not feel like they're not being supported.

DAVID RICHARDSON: Can I just add there, as well, if you go into Sri Lanka and India and even UAE where we are based, the level of excitement for the tournament, it's a huge opportunity really for New Zealand to showcase itself. I mean, the breakfasts that have been planned to coincide with these matches, I don't think people can really appreciate just how big the World Cup is in that part of the world. I think it's a tremendous opportunity.

Q. In that regard, then, is there a move to make tickets cheaper, give tickets away as we get closer to some of these games that aren't perhaps sold out?
THERESE WALSH: Well, I think the key thing about the ticket prices is that they're incredibly accessible. I often say that you can really get to most of these Cricket World Cup matches for the price of going to a movie. It's certainly not overpriced in any way, and it's accessible to pretty much most Kiwis. So I don't think that's an issue. I don't think giving away tickets is not something that you take into account in these things because you need to make sure that the interest stays across the whole tournament. Having said that, we are making sure that schools for certain matches will have the ability to attend, so schools that have signed up to the program that David White outlined around the schools activity zone for cricket, they have the ability to access a small number of tickets for the school, for the cricket community within the school, so there are a few things like that going on. But given where ticket sales are going, I certainly wouldn't be wanting to look at that.

Q. David Richardson, in terms of bowlers' actions, there's been a lot of talk about that. The two top ranked ICC bowlers aren't here partly for that reason. Is that going to be something that's really cracked down on here? Are we going to see players missing games potentially?
DAVID RICHARDSON: No specific directions for the tournament. The directions to the match officials stay the same. If you see something suspicious, by all means report it. So we've got the laboratory in Brisbane on standby to conduct the test as quickly as possible. Within seven days we should have a result. If the player is found to have an illegal action, he would be suspended from then on, and the team would be able to replace him in the team. We prepared without having any special directions going out, and there will be maybe one or two that have come back from suspension who might be more closely scrutinised than the others, and the actions compared to the lab, et cetera. But we certainly don't want to lose any ground with what we have achieved so far.

Q. And just generally in terms of sledging and action, security, anti‑corruption, is this a really big opportunity for the ICC, I guess, to have a good win, to have a good couple of months with none of those things taking over from what's happening on the field?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Well, I certainly hope so. We'd like nothing better than for the cricket on the field to be the judge as to whether this has been a good tournament or not, for the event to be in the newspapers for good cricket rather than for any other reason.

Q. Mr. Richardson, more specifically on the anti‑corruption, has the ICC requested that any individuals not be admitted to New Zealand during this period?
DAVID RICHARDSON: Not specifically. I don't know the details to that extent. I know that a list of names has been given to the law enforcement agencies, whether to keep an eye on them or to prohibit them from entering, of that detail I'm not aware.

Q. Would they stop them from entering, or what's the request? ‑‑
DAVID RICHARDSON: As I said, I don't really know the detail of that. If I answer, I could be giving you some false information. All I know is that, as I say, these people have been identified, and whether they're actually prohibited from entering, probably not, but certainly we'll know whether they are in the country or not.

Q. So you're just leaving that to the authorities, the immigration? ‑‑
DAVID RICHARDSON: Correct, yes. There's a joint office set up in Australia, Canberra I think it is, to just monitor things from there.

Q. On a more sporting note, I just wonder your thoughts on the weight of bats. There's a lot of lot of talk about reducing the weight of bats. Do you have any thoughts on that?
DAVID RICHARDSON: I think it's something that, again, needs to be discussed. There are a number of reasons why people are hitting more sixes than they ever before. The batsmen are getting stronger themselves, stronger and fitter. The bats seem to have a bigger sweeter spot. Some of the grounds that we have, the boundaries are getting a little bit smaller. There are a number of factors to be taken into consideration. The dimension of the bats themselves will be just one of those ‑‑ at this stage, we don't even really know whether any kind of curtailment would be effective. We'd have to consult with the manufacturers. But I think it's reaching that stage where a lot of people are thinking, certainly the bowlers, that it's a little bit unfair when mis‑hits go for six. Good shots, they're out there thinking that's fine. So it's something that will be looked at, but a little bit premature to say that anything will necessarily be done about it. The other interesting point, though, is certainly at test level, although there are more boundaries being scored, the number of outright wins is still very high, which indicates that there's still a lot of wickets being taken. They might not be caught at first slip and maybe at point rather than first slip. But it's something that we need to look at, yes.

Q. Just going back to some of the games that aren't sellouts, particularly the Black Caps game against Afghanistan, is that giving you pause to reconsider that maybe you got some of the venues wrong, that maybe that game might have been better off in Queenstown?
THERESE WALSH: Look, we're really happy with the venues that we've allocated matches to, and all the matches are selling well. I think that Afghanistan versus New Zealand in Napier is quite a unique game, and obviously I think for Kiwis, first and foremost, they wanted to see them play Australia and England and those sort of teams that are well‑known and in the top eight, if you like, of the cricket international community. But when I say that it's not sold out in Napier for the Afghanistan versus New Zealand match, it is selling very well, so I have no concerns that that match won't be very full when we get there, it's just we're making Kiwis aware that there are tickets available to it. I don't have any concerns. When I look across the country, Auckland is going phenomenally well, starts with Australia versus New Zealand, which clearly is sold. In Wellington we've got England versus New Zealand followed by England versus Sri Lanka, both massive games. We then welcome South Africa. When we look at the quarterfinal, the quarterfinal in Wellington is the only quarterfinal in New Zealand, and I think most Kiwis would like to think that the Black Caps will make it through to the quarterfinals and be in that match in New Zealand. So I think everyone has locked onto that and has sort of picked it up as the next Black Caps match if you like, so that's selling very quickly. Nelson I've already mentioned is a game that's basically gone. We've got Christchurch which is looking phenomenal, we've got Dunedin, which has got Scotland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, and those games are selling well with the first one already underway. So I don't have any concerns that we have got, if you like, some dark spots across the country, so I'm feeling very comfortable.

Q. David Richardson, you've just announced that T20 World Cup is coming back to Australia and New Zealand in 2020. Any thoughts to actually holding that announcement back until after this tournament had actually run?
DAVID RICHARDSON: We've actually announced ‑‑ just first a correction. It's actually going back to Australia. I think that was slightly misunderstood in yesterday's press conference. The world T20 is a much shorter event, only three venues, and you need to have those venues relatively close to each other because of the travel involved. New Zealand's next major event is the Under‑19 World Cup in 2018 and then I think the Women's World Cup comes to New Zealand in 2021.

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