Five Tri-Series which you might have forgotten about

2 - Benson and Hedges Triangular Series, 1994-95 (Australia, England, Zimbabwe)

Ricky Ponting played for Australia A in the Tri-series of 1994

The concept of ODI tri-series in Australia originated from the World Series Cricket, the rebellion under the leadership of the visionary businessman Kerry Packer. These Tri-series were played annually from 1978-79 to 2014-15. One of the most extraordinary amongst them was the 1994-95 Tri-series.

Apart from the two visiting nations (England and Zimbabwe), Cricket Australia decided to include another team in the mix. The upcoming young Australian cricketers were bunched to form a team named Australia A. Captained by Damien Martyn, the team included the likes of Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Michael Bevan and Matthew Hayden.

Rather not surprisingly, the Australia A team defeated Zimbabwe twice and England once to end up second on the points table. The finals of the tri-series were eventually played between Australia and Australia A. Australia defeated the A team in two consecutive finals to seal the series.

Since the matches played by Australia A team were not considered as official ODIs, the series is considered a tri-series. The performance of the A team revealed the quality of the bench strength that Australia possessed those days.