ICC World Cup Countdown: Australian cricket team uniform unveiled

CRICKET Australia has marked 100 days to go until the start of the Cricket World Cup by releasing Australia’s official uniform for the showpiece event.

100 Days To Go Until 2015 Cricket World Cup

CRICKET Australia has marked 100 days to go until the start of the Cricket World Cup by releasing Australia’s official uniform for the showpiece event.

Unlike the green uniforms favoured by one-day sides that have played on home soil since 2006, Australia will thankfully revert back to the traditional gold that has served them so well in the past.

Watson models the new kit.

The unconventional black outfits worn by our Twenty20 stars are nowhere to be seen, with the one-day uniform sticking to a more tried and true design that is sure to please traditionalists.

What do you think of the World Cup uniform? Vote in our poll!

BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE

Andy Bichel (L), Damien Fleming, Stephen Fleming, and Chris Harris (R) with the 2015 Cricket World Cup on Auckland's Harbour Bridge.

Our Kiwi cousins like to do things a bit differently, and that was certainly true when it came to celebrating the 100-day countdown.

They also took advantage of a beautiful harbour, but then went one step further by getting a few cricket legends to go head-to-head in what might just be the first ever game of cricket played on Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Australian World Cup winners Damien Fleming and Andy Bichel took on former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming and all-rounder Chris Harris in a grudge match 43-metres above the water.

“You play your career but you don’t think about playing on a bridge! It was definitely unusual but

equally amazing batting on top of such an iconic structure,” Stephen Fleming said.

Sources wouldn’t confirm who won the match but we can only assume it was Australia.

AUSSIES WILL ‘COP IT’ ACROSS THE DITCH

Speaking of the trans-Tasman rivalry, Bichel had some sound words of advice for the Aussie players that will head across the ditch to take on New Zealand in a World Cup showdown at Eden Park on February 28 — and in particular, how to handle the Kiwi fans.

“The closeness of Eden Park, where Australia are going to play New Zealand, the people on the boundary are going to cop it,” Bichel told News Corp Australia. “It will be interesting to see if they handle it.

“They’re going to be in for a rude shock. They may be so close to home but everyone’s going to be going for New Zealand.”

INJURY SCARE FOR ENGLAND

England suffered a blow to its World Cup preparations after strike bowler James Anderson was ruled out of the upcoming one-day series in Sri Lanka.

Anderson will miss the seven-match ODI series due to a knee complaint, meaning he will join fellow pace ace Stuart Broad on the sidelines for England’s penultimate pre-World Cup hit out.

The Poms are trying to put a positive spin on this by saying it will give Broad and Anderson a good period of rest leading into the tournament, but there will no doubt be plenty of concern over how the pair recovers from their time off.

THANKS FOR COMING, SRI LANKA

After the rather major speed bump that was the disastrous home series against the West Indies, which was called off prematurely due to a player strike from the Calypso Kings, India’s World Cup preparations are back on track — at the expense of Sri Lanka’s.

India comfortably won the opening ODI against Sri Lanka in Cuttack on Sunday, with openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan both belting centuries to help the hosts post a monster total of 363.

Sri Lanka was no match for this, going down by 169 runs after being bowled out by the Indians inside 40 overs.

The second one-dayer is on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

Originally published as ICC World Cup Countdown: Australian cricket team uniform unveiled