Australia and New Zealand will play for the Rose Bowl every time they meet in a bilateral women’s series, starting with the NRMA Insurance T20I series from Sunday at North Sydney Oval. The trophy has been part of the rivalry since 1985, when the trans-Tasman rivals began playing for it in one-day international series. Australia have held it since February 2000.
The Rose Bowl will be contested twice this summer, as New Zealand return to Australian shores in March for three ODIs in Canberra and Melbourne.
“The Rose Bowl is such a special part of the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, and having it up for grabs across all bilateral white-ball series adds another level of excitement,” Australia captain Sophie Molineux said.
“We know how much this contest means to both sides, and we’re looking forward to getting out there and competing for the trophy in front of a home crowd in Sydney.”
If a single tour features both T20Is and ODIs, the winner will be decided by the most wins across the two formats. A tie means the trophy stays with the current holders. Australia and New Zealand have not met in a women’s Test since 1996, but if a full multi-format series were introduced between the rivals, the same points structure used in the Women’s Ashes would apply.
Many less fervent followers of the women’s game may not be as familiar with the Rose Bowl as they are with the Women’s Ashes trophy, particularly now that trans-Tasman ODI series have become scarcer.
For those who have competed for it, however, the Rose Bowl is one of the most valuable pieces of silverware in the sport. It represents the fierce but friendly rivalry between the two nations.
For Australia, it has been a constant in the trophy cabinet for the past 26 years. It stands as a testament to their dominance in trans-Tasman cricket since Belinda Clark‘s team won the trophy back with a 3-0 series sweep in Melbourne in early 2000. Ask any Australian player and they will tell you how determined they are not to be the ones who give it back.
The White Ferns, despite their drought, hold the Rose Bowl in such high regard that New Zealand Cricket produced an in-depth docuseries in 2024. It traced the trophy’s history, with a host of legends reliving classic moments.
For New Zealand, the Rose Bowl has been rather like Halley’s Comet over the past two decades. It is a treasure briefly sighted every few years at pre-series captain’s photoshoots and post-series presentations, before being whisked back to Cricket Australia’s Jolimont headquarters.
That is a record New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr is desperate to change.
“I remember when I first made the White Ferns, playing in the Rose Bowl … it’s something that is extremely special to our group, and I’m sure it’s the same for Australia,” Kerr said.
“It was our next biggest thing after a World Cup, so to have the opportunity to play it more in terms of playing the T20 format, it’s really exciting, and it’s nice to be able to play Australia again.
“It’d be pretty special to win it back. 1999 was the last time we won it, and to play against Australia, who’ve just come off a World Cup win, we’d be pretty fizzed to get the Rose Bowl back in New Zealand.”
The addition of the shortest format could help New Zealand achieve that goal. They have not won an ODI series against Australia this century, but they have been more successful in T20Is, with their last series win coming in 2017.
In all, the T20I series ledger between the two sides stands at 12 wins for Australia, four for New Zealand and one drawn. Across 45 T20Is overall, Australia have won 26 to the White Ferns’ 18.
Adding T20Is to the Rose Bowl will ensure it remains regularly up for grabs. Australia will host New Zealand for three ODIs in March 2027. As things stand, however, the sides will not play another 50-over series until after the current World Cup cycle, through to mid-2029. Their next meeting is currently scheduled to be a T20I series in March 2029.
What is the history behind the Rose Bowl?
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the introduction of regular series against New Zealand gave Australia’s women a much-needed regular opponent outside of England. It also helped spearhead the growth of the women’s game across the Tasman.
The trophy was introduced for Australia’s 1978-79 Test tour across the Tasman, when series sponsor Shell of New Zealand, the oil company, donated the silverware. Although it was originally linked to the red-ball game, from 1984-85 onwards it was tied to the now-regular ODI series between the rivals.
The Rose Bowl remained a largely annual fixture for the next 20 years. The introduction of the ICC Women’s ODI Championship then changed the shape of the touring programme, and the teams now generally meet every two to four years.
The best of the Rose Bowl
Here are some of the most iconic Rose Bowl moments and performances.
Meg Lanning’s whirlwind century (Sydney, 2012)
Meg Lanning was still in the early days of her international career when she stunned New Zealand at North Sydney Oval in 2012. The White Ferns had posted a meagre 177 all out, thanks to the efforts of spin trio Erin Osborne, Lisa Sthalekar and Jess Jonassen.
A 20-year-old Lanning had already scored two hundreds in her first 13 ODIs, but nobody saw this innings coming. Opening the batting, she faced seven dot balls from the first nine deliveries. Then she unleashed on New Zealand pace bowler Sian Ruck, smashing three fours and a six from the fifth over of the chase. Lanning was away.
No White Ferns bowler was safe, and Lanning was unstoppable. She reached her third one-day century off just 45 balls, a mark that remained the fastest ODI hundred by an Australian until Glenn Maxwell broke the record with a 40-ball century against the Netherlands more than a decade later.
Meg Lanning loves Mount Maunganui (2016, 2017)
There was something about Lanning and Tauranga’s Bay Oval. She scored three tons at the picturesque North Island ground between February 2016 and March 2017.
In early 2016, the trans-Tasman rivals split the first two matches of the Rose Bowl series. Lanning’s seventh ton, an unbeaten 114 from 113 balls, levelled the series after the White Ferns took the opener.
A couple of days later, a second straight century from Lanning sealed another Rose Bowl series win for Australia in a thriller. Set an imposing 244 for victory, New Zealand’s new-ball pair of Lea Tahuhu and Morna Nielson shackled Australia early and removed opener Nicole Bolton for a duck in the second over.
After a tentative start, Lanning became increasingly aggressive, scoring 127 from 135 deliveries to guide her team into a winning position.
The third, in March 2017, was pure Lanning: a tricky run chase in a must-win series decider. With the ODI series tied 1-1 and the Rose Bowl on the line, she scored a match-winning unbeaten 104 to help Australia to a final-over, five-wicket victory at Mount Maunganui. It was her 10th ODI century, passing the record held by former England captain Charlotte Edwards.
Suzie Bates’s record score propels the White Ferns (Sydney, 2012)
Then White Ferns captain Suzie Bates gave her team a winning start to the 2012 Rose Bowl series in Sydney. She struck a superb unbeaten 122 from 131 deliveries at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia had elected to bat first. Lanning’s speedy 87 and skipper Jodie Field‘s 51 helped the hosts to 248 before they were bowled out in the 49th over.
That target proved nowhere near enough. While Australia dismissed opener Lucy Doolan for 10, the White Ferns took control as Bates was joined by Amy Satterthwaite. The pair put on 168 for the second wicket. Satterthwaite was dismissed on 98, but Bates batted through to secure victory in the 45th over. Her unbeaten 122 remains the highest score by a New Zealand batter in a Rose Bowl ODI.
Ellyse Perry’s breakthrough first ODI century (Adelaide, 2019)
Ellyse Perry continued her trend of reaching major milestones in dramatic fashion when she hit her first ODI century against New Zealand in Adelaide.
Having anchored the innings with aplomb to steer Australia out of trouble, the allrounder was unbeaten on 95 heading into the final over. She had been in this situation before, having finished not out in the 90s on three previous occasions in ODIs and dismissed for 90 on another.
It looked as though she might fall short again when she hit two singles, with batting partner Delissa Kimmince returning the strike each time, to sit on 97 with two balls remaining. Searching for a boundary, Perry went big on the second-last ball of the innings. She brought up her century in bizarre circumstances when she was dropped on the rope by Anna Peterson. The ball then rolled to the boundary, and the Australian celebrated three figures in an ODI for the first time. Perry then struck a six to finish a fine 107 from 110 deliveries.
Amelia Kerr announces herself (Mount Maunganui, 2017)
Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval has hosted a host of classic Rose Bowl moments over the past decade, and one of the most memorable for New Zealand came in 2017.
A 16-year-old leg-spinner, Amelia Kerr, missed a day of high school and announced herself against the world’s top-ranked team in only her second ODI against Australia, three months after her international debut.
She put the tourists in a spin, taking 4-54 from her 10 overs. Her prized scalps included Australia captain Lanning, who was bowled with the very first ball she faced from Kerr, along with Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy and Elyse Villani.
Afterwards, Lanning praised the teenager, describing her performance as the arrival of a “star of the future”.
Emily Drumm’s Rose Bowl hat-trick (Adelaide, 1996)
Former New Zealand captain Emily Drumm, who led her team to victory over Australia in the 2000 ODI World Cup final, also holds a special place in history. She is the only player to have claimed a Rose Bowl hat-trick.
Drumm’s heroics came in the second ODI between the rivals at Adelaide Oval in 1996. Australia had appeared set for a big total after Karen Rolton and Clark scored half-centuries. Drumm curtailed the hosts, however, dismissing Zoe Goss, Jo Garey and Joanne Broadbent to complete her hat-trick. In the end, Australia made only 9-164 from their 50 overs, but it was enough, as they held on for a thrilling four-run win.
Belinda Clark’s lone hand sets a record (Auckland, 1997)
Former Australia captain Clark produced a remarkable individual performance in the second ODI of her team’s 1997 tour of New Zealand. Batting first in Auckland, she smashed 142 from 130 deliveries at the top of the order. Her innings ended when she was run out by opposing skipper Maia Lewis.
Australia’s next highest contribution to their total of 5-247 came from Mel Jones, who scored 28.
In reply, New Zealand great Debbie Hockley carried her bat for an unbeaten 78 at the top of the order. She too was playing a lone hand, as the next highest score was Lewis’s 25, and the hosts were bowled out for 158.
Clark’s 142 remains the highest individual score in a Rose Bowl ODI to this day.
NRMA Insurance Women’s T20 Series v New Zealand
All matches are played at North Sydney Oval, starting at 7:15pm AEDT.
Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp
All women’s international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel.