The Tangiwai train disaster was a deadly railway accident that occurred at 10:21 p.m. on 24 December 1953, when a railway bridge over the Whangaehu River collapsed beneath an express passenger train at Tangiwai, North Island, New Zealand. The locomotive and the first six carriages derailed into the river, killing 151 people. The subsequent board of inquiry found that the accident was caused by the collapse of the tephra dam holding back nearby Mount Ruapehu's crater lake, creating a rapid mudflow (lahar) in the Whangaehu River, which destroyed one of the bridge piers at Tangiwai only minutes before the train reached the bridge. The volcano itself was not erupting at the time. The disaster remains New Zealand's worst rail accident.
The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season and the first T20I, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season, winning both games. The team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League. Australia are the current ICC World Test Championship and ICC Cricket World Cup champions. They are regarded as most successful cricket teams in the history of Cricket.
The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 New Zealand had to wait until 1956, more than 26 years, for its first Test victory, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch. New Zealand are the inaugural champions of WTC which they won in 2021 and they have also won ICC CT in 2000. They have played in the CWC final twice and the T20 WC final once.
The England men's cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club since 1903. England, as a founding nation, is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. Until the 1990s, Scottish and Irish players also played for England as those countries were not yet ICC members in their own right. England are the current ICC Men's T20 World Cup champions.
The South Africa men's national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Its nickname derives from South Africa's national flower, Protea cynaroides, commonly known as the "King Protea".
John Dyson is a former international cricketer (batsman) who is now a cricket coach, most recently in charge of the West Indies.
Bert Sutcliffe was a New Zealand Test cricketer. Sutcliffe was a successful left-hand batsman. His batting achievements on tour in England in 1949, which included four fifties and a century in the Tests, earned him the accolade of being one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. He captained New Zealand in four Tests in the early 1950s, losing three of them and drawing the other. None of Sutcliffe's 42 Tests resulted in a New Zealand victory. In 1949 Sutcliffe was named the inaugural New Zealand Sportsman of the Year, and in 2000 was named as New Zealand champion sportsperson of the decade for the 1940s.
Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor is a former New Zealand international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team. Batting predominantly at number four, when he announced his retirement from international cricket at the end of 2021, he was the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Test and One Day International cricket. Taylor was a key member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship, where he scored the winning boundary in the final.
Robert William Blair is a former cricketer who played 19 Test matches for New Zealand.
Timothy Grant Southee, is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays for New Zealand cricket team in all formats of the game, captain in Tests and vice captain in T20Is. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman. The third New Zealand bowler to take 300 Test wickets, he was one of the country's youngest cricketers, debuting at the age of 19 in February 2008. On his Test debut against England he took 5 wickets and made 77 off 40 balls in the second innings. He plays for Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield, Ford Trophy and Super Smash as well as Northland in the Hawke Cup. He was named as New Zealand's captain for the first T20I against West Indies in place of Kane Williamson, who was rested for that game. The Blackcaps won that match by 47 runs. Southee was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. Southee currently has the highest (international) test batting strike rate among the batsmen with a minimum of 2000 test runs. His (batting) career strike rate is 83.12.
The New Zealand national cricket team toured South Africa from October 1953 to February 1954 and played a five match Test series against the South Africa national cricket team. South Africa won the Test series 4–0. The tour was the first by a representative New Zealand side to South Africa and the tourists embarked on their visit without having won a Test match since they had been granted full member status of the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1930.
William Edgar Richard Somerville is a New Zealand former professional cricketer who made his international debut for New Zealand in December 2018. He played domestically for Otago and Auckland and in Australia for New South Wales and Sydney Sixers. He retired from professional cricket in April 2023.
Neil Wagner is a South African-born former New Zealand Test cricketer who played for New Zealand and Northern Districts cricket teams. He played for Northerns until 2007/08 and Otago between 2008 and 2018. Wagner was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. On 27 February 2024, he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Thomas William Maxwell Latham is a New Zealand international cricketer who is the vice captain of New Zealand cricket team in Test matches and One Day Internationals. He is the son of former cricketer Rod Latham. He has the most Test centuries for New Zealand opening batsmen. Latham was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship
Devon Philip Conway is a South African–born New Zealand cricketer who plays for the New Zealand cricket team. In March 2020, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that Conway would be eligible to play for New Zealand from 28 August 2020. In May 2020, New Zealand Cricket awarded him a central contract, ahead of the 2020–21 season.
Jhye Avon Richardson is an Australian cricketer. He made his debut in domestic cricket in October 2015, and made his international debut for the Australia national cricket team in February 2017.
Henry Michael Nicholls is a New Zealand cricketer who represents the New Zealand national team and plays for Canterbury in domestic first-class cricket. He has two older brothers, one of whom, Willy Nicholls, is a media correspondent for the Black Caps and White Ferns. He has also been the captain of the reserve A side since 2017. Nicholls was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.
Blair Marshall Tickner is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Central Districts. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in February 2019.
Glenn Dominic Phillips is a New Zealand cricketer, born in South Africa, who represents the New Zealand national cricket team and plays for Otago domestically. He made his international debut for New Zealand in February 2017. In December 2015, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In December 2017, his younger brother, Dale was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
The South Africa cricket team toured New Zealand in February 2024 to play two Test matches. The Test matches formed part of 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship.
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