Whenever a side wins a game, they get a point, and whoever has the most points after all of the games are played wins the enviable Star Trophy until the next series.
Sylestone is an island nation with a population of 25 million, mainly clustered in Betham, Chamberley, Avondale and Cleorough. It is located on the equator, which will be quite alien for the Martunians. Sylestone is expected to get an early lead in the series, but Martune will come back in the ODI's. Many questions will be answered about these two sides, the most prominent being whether Martune were really as good as they were in the WC, and just how important is Sylestone's top order to their success.
First T20:
When: 20 June
Where: Halpenley City Oval, Halpenley
Ground Style: -2
Halpenley is a city located near the exact centre of Sylestone, with a population of 1.5 million. The pitch is quite good for fast bowling and a winning score of under 120 is not unheard of. It will be a good test for both side's batsman and spinners. The ground has a capacity of 35,000 and it will provide good support for the Sylestoneans, although Martune is planning on sending a large number of fans.
Second T20:
When: 24 June
Where: Cleorough Stadium, Cleorough
Ground Style: 0
Cleorough Stadium is the smallest cricketing stadium in the entirety of Sylestone, so lots of runs are expected to be scored. However, the pitch heavily favours spin bowlers and has something in it for the quicks, too. This pitch will also test both Martune's and Sylestone's batting lineups.
First ODI:
When: 1 July
Where: Betham Cricket Ground (BCG), Betham
Ground Style: 1
The BCG is Sylestone's third most famous cricket ground, after the CCG and Capital Stadium. It is an even track, with support for both batsman and bowlers, however, has relatively short boundaries. It should be a nice, reasonably high scoring game.
Second ODI:
When: 4 July
Where: Capital Stadium, Avondale
Ground Style: 1
Another decent batting track in Sylestone, Capital Stadium can hold up to 100,000 cricket-mad Sylestoneans. Although it slightly favours the batters, there is something in it for the bowlers, and good, disciplined bowling will win you 90% of matches here.
Third ODI:
When: 8 July
Where: Chamberley Cricket Ground, Chamberley
Ground Style: 4
This game will almost certainly be an entertaining batting blitz on the lifeless Chamberley pitch. Scores of 400-plus are common here. There is a tiny skerrick of life in this pitch and you need to be a top bowler if you can find it. A batting blast is always a good end to the series and , you never know, it could decide the outcome of it, too.
