The England and New Zealand Test teams will honour their former greats, the late Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe with a trophy named in the duo's honour. (More Cricket News)
The upcoming NZ vs ENG Test series will be named as the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, a collaboration between New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), plus the families of each player, who will be present at the unveiling of the trophy on the morning of the 1st Test in Christchurch, starting November 28.
Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe were highly successful Test players for their respective countries. Crowe average 45.36 with 17 Test tons to his name, including a highest score of 299. As for Thorpe, he averaged 44.66 in Test cricket, including 16 centuries to go with a highest score of 200 not out against New Zealand in 2002.
The trophy's wood is sourced from the bat from each player, and is designed by David Ngawati of Mahu Creative and will be played for in the future NZ vs ENG Tests.
New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Scott Weenink said that it was fitting that the stories and memories of both the icons would be kept alive with the trophy.
“Today’s generation of players are standing on the shoulders of those who went before them, players like Graham and Martin,” said Weenink in an official statement.
“It’s good that we recognise this and respect their legacy. Both were seriously good batsmen who understood the game intimately - they commanded respect wherever they went," Weenink added.
The Crowe-Thorpe Trophy will be unveiled by Deb Crowe (Martin’s sister) and former England Test captain Michael Atherton on the ground ahead on the national anthems on Thursday.
New Zealand-England Test series begins on November 28
Fresh from a 0-3 series win in India, Tom Latham will be raring to against Ben Stokes' England in a bid to make to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The Kiwis must beat England by the same margin if they are to qualify for the WTC final next year at Lord's.
