Black Caps Vs England: All you need to know ahead of the 1st Test

All you need to know about the first test in the three-match series between New Zealand and England.

The Black Caps have played England 112 times in tests since 1930, the first test being in Christchurch in 1930. On home soil, New Zealand have won seven of 53 tests. But since 2002 it’s been less one-sided with the Black Caps holding a 5-4 advantage with five draws.

The hosts head into the series sitting fourth on the World Test Championship table with a winning percentage of 54.55. The Black Caps can finish as high as 64.29 with a 3-0 series win. England are sixth on 40.79 and can only finish as high as 48.86 with a 3-0 sweep.

What time is New Zealand vs England?
The first ball will be bowled at 11am on Thursday.

New Zealand vs England coverage?
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps this summer.

Test series schedule
1st test, Christchurch, November 28-December 2
2nd test, Wellington, December 6-10
3rd test, Hamilton, December 14-18

Previous Test form
New Zealand: W, W, W, L, L
England: L, L, W, L, W
(Most recent first)

New Zealand vs England - last five Test results
Feb 2023, Wellington - Black Caps won by one run
Feb 2023, Mount Maunganui - England won by 267 runs
June 2022, Leeds - England won by seven wickets
June 2022, Nottingham - England won by five wickets
June 2022, Lord’s - England won by five wickets

New Zealand side to face England (expected)
1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Will O’Rourke, 11 Nathan Smith.

England side to face New Zealand
1 ⁠Zak Crawley, 2⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett, 3⁠ ⁠Jacob Bethell, 4⁠ ⁠Joe Root, 5 ⁠Harry Brook, 6⁠ ⁠Ollie Pope (wk), 7⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (capt), 8⁠ ⁠Chris Woakes, 9⁠ ⁠Gus Atkinson, 10⁠ ⁠Brydon Carse, 11⁠ ⁠Shoaib Bashir.

TAB odds
New Zealand $1.87
England $2.10
Draw $11.50

The Black Caps haven’t drawn a test at home since the 2019 test against England in Hamilton, when Root made 226. Since then the Black Caps have played 18 tests at home without a draw.

Ones to watch

Tim Southee
He started and will end his test career against England. He’s taken 72 career wickets against England in 19 tests, at a bowling average of 34.81. With New Zealand expected to play four seamers, he will be sharing the load and possibly the wickets. He needs 15 wickets in the series to be the second New Zealander to reach 400.

Daryl Mitchell
Unwanted by the IPL teams, Mitchell returns to a test ground he has scored two of his five centuries to date. He averages 58.82 with two tons and three half-centuries at his home ground Hagley Oval.

Joe Root
The England number four will be playing his 150th test, despite starting his test career four years after Southee, who has played 104 tests. Root averages 59.75 in New Zealand with two centuries including 226 in 2019. He’s on a streak of three straight 50s against New Zealand including two scores of 153 not out and 95 in the last test at the Basin Reserve.

Gus Atkinson
It’s been a while since an England touring team didn’t feature either Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson, so up steps Atkinson who will have the new ball in his hand. Since making his debut in July, in three series he’s taken 40 wickets at an average of 21.32. The New Zealand conditions should suit him.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission