Tour of Sri Lanka 2002-03                     Captain : Stephen Fleming

45th official Test tour.

Fifth Test-playing  tour of Sri Lanka by New Zealand

 (April  -  May  2003)

The 1986-87 and 1992-93 tours of Sri Lanka had been disrupted (by bomb blasts), and this tour, too, seemed t to be threatened by outside events. The SARS outbreak (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) had already claimed 200 lives across Asia, though not in Sri Lanka, but the Boards decided just a few days before that the tour would go ahead.

The two Test matches were drawn. Stephen Fleming scored a personal-best of 274 not out in Colombo as New Zealand piled on 515 for 7 before declaring. Sri Lanka’s response made the match safe for them but another marathon effort by Fleming for 69 not out meant he was on the field for all but 45 minutes of the match. The second Test was drawn with Sri Lanka declining to attempt what had seemed an achievable target

The New Zealanders won a triangular one-day tournament, the Bank Alfalah Cup being their first major limited-overs trophy since the ICC Knockout in 2000 when they beat India to win a mini World Cup in Nairobi.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

West Indies 2001-02

Next tour

India 2003-04

Next tour of Sri Lanka 

2009

Members of the Test tour party (14)

Opening batsmen   Mark Richardson, Matt Horne

Middle-order batsmen  Stephen Fleming, Richard Jones, Scott Styris, Mathew Sinclair, Lou Vincent

Wicket-keepers   Robbie Hart

All-rounder:  Jacob Oram

Spin bowlers  Daniel Vettori,  Paul Wiseman

Fast bowlers  Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Daryl Tuffey

to the following:

Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming, Chris Harris, Robbie Hart, Paul Hitchcock, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Chris Martin,  Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.

Representation of teams in State Championship

A - Auckland (3)

C - Canterbury (2)

CD - Central Districts (2)

ND - Northern Districts (5)

O - Otago (0)

W - Wellington (2)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(25 April 2003) :  27 yrs  5 months.

ODI :  part of ODI squad for Bank Alfalah Cup tri series.

⋄ central contarcts

New Zealand Cricket awarded central contracts (⋄) in November 2002

Test Appearances made before the tour

Fleming 73,  Vettori 44,  Horne 33,  Richardson 22,  Sinclair 18,  Wiseman 14,  Tuffey 12,  Vincent 11, Bond 8,  Hart 6,  Butler 4,  Styris 3,  Jones 0,  Oram 2.

Team Officials

Selectors

Sir Richard Hadlee (convenor),  Denis Aberhart,  Ross Dykes and  Brian McKechnie.

Selection

Unavailable  : Chris Cairns was unavailable until the limited-overs section of the tour.  Nathan Astle was having surgery on his knee.

Test Tour Party Announced  : 2 April 2003.

Not selected:  ⋄ Chris Harris and ⋄ Craig McMillan (because of his lack of form)

Two players - Jasu Patel and Bruce Martin (ND) went with the tour party as net spin bowlers. Martin won a Test cap ten years later against England.

One-day tour party announced :  2 April 2003

A thirteen man squad, with one more player to be added at the end of the Test series in Sri Lanka from Sinclair, Vincent or Jones.  On 8 May Hadlee announced that Lou Vincent would make up the squad.

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  13 days

(2 April to 15 April)

Travel

?  Q Colombo

Departure from New Zealand was on Tuesday 15 April.

The cricketers arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday 16 April and had their first practice session at Colombo’s Nondescripts Cricket Club grounds on 17 April.

Time spent in Sri Lanka

   38 days

(16 April - 24 May)

On-tour selection panel

 -

Reinforcements

ADDED ▷  Wiseman (ODIs)

◁ W/D   Bond

Chris Cairns was unable to bowl during the triangular series after aggravating an old side injury and played as a batsman.  Daniel Vettori sprained his ankle so Paul Wiseman remained wIth the squad as temporary cover.

Shane Bond developed a back injury during the first ODI against Pakistan and returned home, so Wiseman stayed on for the whole tournament

.

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§ one-day internationals

Time spent in Sri Lanka before First Test: 

9 days

(16 April - 25 April)

Test appearances on tour

2  -    Bond,  Fleming,  Hart,  Horne,  Oram,  Richardson,  Sinclair,  Styris,  Tuffey,  Vettori,  Wiseman

0  -    Butler,  Jones,  Vincent.

Highlights

•  Stephen Fleming scored 274 not out, with 28 fours and a six, at Colombo in the first Test.

•  Fleming’s match aggregate of 343 runs was a New Zealand record.

•  He took part in two large partnerships:  a 172-run stand for the 2nd wicket with opener Mark Richardson (85) and a 157-run stand for the 4th wicket with Scott Styris (63).

•   Mark Richardson scored 55 in each innings of the Kandy Test.

•   Shane Bond became the fastest to reach 50 wickets by a New Zealander in one-day internationals

•   Daniel Vettori finished with 10 wickets for 118 runs in the ODIs and won a Mitsubishi car

Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

Colombo   Q ?

At the end of the Test series the New Zealanders took part in the Bank Alfalah Cup tri series

Shane Bond returned home to Christchurch on 16 May; he had a stress fracture in his lower back..

Last match ended 23 May.  Return presume 24 May 2003

Time away from New Zealand    x days  

(15 April to arrive home NZ)

Finances

Postscript

Yet another external disruption to New Zealand versus Sri Lanka Tests would occur when the 2004 tsunami caused the Sri Lankans to abandon their tour of New Zealand.