New Zealand cricket officially started with their first Test match in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand. They became the fifth country to play Test cricket. However, it took more than 26 years for them to register their first victory, which came against West Indies in 1952. In 90 years, New Zealand has produced some of the finest cricketers like Glenn Turner, Bert Sutcliffe, Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, and Chris Cairns. Sir Richard Hadlee is the greatest cricketer of all time for New Zealand.
Overall, New Zealand played 443 Tests, won 102, lost 175, and drew 166 matches, with a winning ratio of 23.02% and the win-loss ratio of 0.58. They haven’t lost a Test match to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh yet. As per ICC Test Team rankings last updated in September 2020, New Zealand is placed second in the table.
New Zealand played their first One Day International (ODI) match in 1972-73 against Pakistan in Christchurch. Since then, they played 772 ODI matches, won 351, lost 374, tied 7 and 40 matches ended in no-results. They have a better winning percentage in ODIs against Zimbabwe (74.32%), Bangladesh (71.42%), Sri Lanka (54.39%), and England (51.14%). New Zealand reached the semi-finals of the World Cup on four occasions (1975, 1979, 1999, and 2007). They made it to the ICC World Cup Finals in 2015 and 2019 but lost on both the occasions to Australia and England respectively. In the 2019 Final, the match was tied, and it went into the super over which tied again. Eventually, England won on the boundary count rule, having scored 26 boundaries to New Zealand’s 17.
In the Twenty-20 format, New Zealand played 134 matches, won 65 and lost 65 and in 4 matches there was no result. They have a better winning ratio against West Indies (67.85%), Sri Lanka (58.33%), and India (56.25%). South Africa and Australia are their toughest opponents.
The New Zealand cricket team is popularly known as Black Caps. They got the name nickname in 1998, after their sponsor at the time, held a competition to choose a name for the team. Before Black Caps, they were called “Kiwis” or “Maoris”. Kiwis is still a very popular name for the New Zealand cricket team.
New Zealand cricket team’s home season begins in November, and it extends till March the next year. Black Caps play a couple of Test series between November and March, they host two different national teams in these 4-5 months and generally play 2 Tests, 3-5 ODIs, and 3-5 Twenty20 matches in a series.
Between March and October, the Black Caps play away series. They visit Australia, England, India for Test, T20, and ODI series. In the past five years, they played only one Test series in South Africa (August 2016) which included two Tests. When they visit India, generally they play 3 Tests and 5 ODIs.
Currently, New Zealand is hosting West Indies for 3 T20Is and 2 Tests. By end of March 2021, Kiwis will play a few more home series, including 3 T20Is and 2 Tests against Pakistan, 5 T20Is against Australia followed by 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is against Bangladesh. In November 2021, Kiwis will participate in the ICC World T20 championship which was earlier scheduled in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic. At the end of 2021, they will play 2 series against India and Bangladesh and in each series, they will play 2 Tests and 3 T20Is.
In 2022, Black Caps will play 3 ODIs against the Netherlands, followed by 2 Tests and 3 T20Is with South Africa and 3 ODIs against India. In June 2022, they will play 3 Tests against England, followed by 1 Test and 3 ODIs against Ireland. From November till December 2022, New Zealand will play 2 Tests and 3 ODIs against Pakistan, followed by 2 Tests and 3 ODIs against Sri Lanka, and then they will play 3 ODIs against West Indies. In January 2023, New Zealand will play 3 ODIs against India and 3 ODIs against Afghanistan.
Some of these fixtures might change as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
As of now, New Zealand cricket live matches include the Test series at home, against West Indies. The hosts already clinched the T20 series by 2-0 against the visitors. They won the first two T20 games played at Auckland and Tauranga on 27 and 29 November. The last T20I of the series at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui did not yield any result due to rain. Kiwis won the first Test match at Hamilton by an innings and 134 runs. The last Test of the series is scheduled for 11 December at Wellington.
Soon after that, the Black Caps have to be ready for the home series with Pakistan, which includes 3 T20Is on 18, 20, and 22 of December at Auckland, Hamilton, and Napier respectively. Following the T20 series, both the sides will also play two Test matches. Their first Test match will start on 26 December at Bay Oval, Tauranga, and the second Test will start on 3 January at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Pakistan’s squad and support staff have all tested negative for COVID-19 during the fifth and final round of testing now. This means they can start training, subject to final clearance from New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.
In the history of cricket, New Zealand have produced some of the greatest players the world has seen. The most revered and famous of them all is Sir Richard Hadlee. He is undoubtedly one of the best bowlers and all-rounders in the history of cricket. His 431 wickets in 86 Tests was the world record of the most wickets at that time. Hadlee’s brilliant spell of 9 for 52 against Australia in 1985 is his best bowling figures in Tests.
Next on the list is Chris Cairns, one of the finest all-rounders in the 1990s had established himself as a destructive batsman in the middle-order, and shrewd fast bowler. Cairns’ century against India in ICC Champions Trophy 2000 final match awarded New Zealand their only ICC trophy to date.
New Zealand’s current skipper, Kane Williamson is one of the best batsmen in the world today. He scored 5116 Test runs so far, which is the 6th highest for New Zealand. Also, Williamson along with other Black Caps great Martin Crowe share the most Test centuries record – 17 hundred – for New Zealand. Crowe almost led New Zealand to a World Cup win in 1992, where the Black Caps reached the semi-finals, only to be beaten by eventual winners Pakistan.
Stephen Fleming is considered Zealand’s greatest batsman ever. Fleming is also New Zealand’s most successful skipper and one of the best captains ever. Daniel Vettori is one of the best all-rounders of all time. He is amongst only three cricketers who have scored more than 4000 runs and have taken more than 300 wickets in Tests, the other two being Kapil Dev and Sir Ian Botham. Some of the other Black Caps greats are Brendon McCullum, Glenn Turner, Bert Sutcliffe, Ross Taylor, Nathan Astle, and Shane Bond.
Kane Williamson leads the Black Caps in Tests. The side is second only to Australia, as per ICC Test rankings. Tom Latham along with Tom Blundell or Will Young open the innings. One of the best batsmen in the world cricket today, Williamson, bats at number 3. Dependable and versatile batsman Ross Taylor comes at number four. The left-hander Henry Nicholls comes next.
The Test bowling unit is led by left-arm pacer Trent Boult, who can swing the ball both ways even in unsupportive conditions, and Tim Southee, a right-arm swing bowler who can generate late outswing at a brisk pace. Other pacers in the squad are Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner.
Under Williamson’s captaincy, New Zealand’s ODI cricket team played the 2019 ICC World Cup and reached the final. Right now Black Caps are at third place in the ICC ODI rankings. Any two of Tom Blundell, Martin Guptill, and Tom Latham could play the role of the openers in ODIs, followed by Williamson at 3, and Ross Taylor at 4. Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, and Mitchell Santner form the lower middle order. Tim Southee and Trent Boult are in charge of the pace attack, and they are well supported by Kyle Jamieson, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson. Right-arm leg spinner Ish Sodhi completes the bowling unit.
Like Tests and ODIs, the Black Caps are led by Kane Williamson in T20 format too. However, Tim Southee captained the side in the recently concluded T20 series against West Indies as Williamson took rest. The Black Caps have formidable opening batsmen in Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, and Colin Munro. At number three they have Williamson, followed by Glenn Phillips and Ross Taylor.
Devon Conway filled Williamson’s place against West Indies. Allrounders James Neesham and Mitchell Santner come in at number 6 and 7. Tim Southee is in charge of the T20 bowling department for Black Caps. He gets support from other pacers like Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, and Hamish Bennett. Leg-breaker Ish Sodhi fills in the spinner’s spot.
New Zealand and India played their first bilateral series in 1955-56, which included 5 Tests, and India won the series by 2-0. From 1955 till today, both the teams played 59 Test matches, out of which New Zealand won 12 Tests, lost 21, and 26 Tests ended in a draw. Black Caps played their first ODI against India in Prudential World Cup in 1975. Till now they played 110 ODI matches against India till date and won 49, lost 55, tied 1 and 5 matches ended in no-result. Their first T20 encounter was again in the ICC event – World Cup Twenty20 in 2007. Overall, they clashed 16 times, out of which Black Caps won 8 and lost 8 games.
In 2000 ICC Champions Trophy, New Zealand defeated then-favorite India chasing down the target of 264 thanks to Chris Cairns’ unbeaten innings of 102 in 113 balls. In the 2019 ICC World Cup, New Zealand again defeated India in the rain-affected Semi-Final game by 18 runs. Player of the match Matt Henry (3 wickets for 42 runs) and Trent Boult (2 for 42) dismantled Indian top and middle order.
In the last 2 years, New Zealand played 19 International matches against India and won 9 of them. Both the sides clashed in 9 ODIs out of which Black Caps won 5 and lost 4 matches. They also played 8 T20s against each other, from which Kiwis won 2, lost 4, and tied 2 games.
Team New Zealand shares a great history of playing against their arch-rivals Australia since 1946. The neighbours have played 207 international matches so far, including 60 Tests, 138 ODIs, and 9 T20Is. Though Australia have an upper hand with a 65% winning ratio against the Black Caps, the clashes between the neighbours have been thrilling, and among the most anticipated encounters. New Zealand have won just 8 Tests against Australia, lost 34, and drew 18 Test matches. In the ODIs too, New Zealand managed to win just one-third of the matches. In 9 T20I encounters, New Zealand have won just 1 game, tied 1 match, and lost 7 matches.
In the last 2 years, the two sides played 5 matches including 3 Tests and 2 ODIs, though New Zealand lost all the matches. Their ODI and T20I series scheduled earlier in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic. In the ICC World Cup 2019, New Zealand faced a huge defeat against Australia at Lord’s. In the last Test series between the two teams, New Zealand lost all the 3 Tests by huge margins.
The Test Series played between Kiwis and Aussies is named the Trans-Tasman series. So far, they have plated 18 Trans-Tasman series out of which New Zealand won 3 and Australia won 11 series while 4 series were drawn. Sir Richard Hadlee has been the player of the series twice.
The first time New Zealand played against South Africa was way back in March 1932. South Africa had defeated the Kiwis in both the Tests of the series. As of now both the teams played 45 Tests and New Zealand managed to win on 4 occasions only, while lost 25 Tests and drew 16 Tests. In One Day Internationals, they met only 71 times so far, out of which Black Caps won 25 matches, Proteas won 41 and five matches did not yield results. Out of 15 T20 encounters between the two sides, Kiwis won just 4 games and lost 11. New Zealand played their first ODI against South Africa at Auckland for Benson & Hedges World Cup in 1992, which they won by 7 wickets. The first T20I between them was in October 2005, which the Black Caps won by 5 wickets.
The Black Caps defeated South Africa in the ICC World Cup 2019 after Kane Williamson’s brilliant century. With that win, New Zealand knocked out South Africa from the World Cup for the third consecutive time. Earlier in the 2011 (Quarter-Final) and 2015 (Semi-Final) World Cups South Africa faced painful defeats by the Black Caps.
New Zealand first faced Bangladesh in an ODI in 1990, played at Sharjah. Though they played their next ODI match in the 1999 ICC World Cup, and in December 2001, both the teams played their first Test match. Their first T20 transpired in 2010. Out of 15 Test matches played between them, Kiwis have never lost a match, winning 12 of them. Both the sides played 30 ODIs, and New Zealand won 25 of them. In T20 format, Kiwis have completely dominated the Asian side winning all 7 games they played.
New Zealand’s tour of Bangladesh in 2013-14 was a challenging one, as they had to settle for a draw in the 2-Test series (0-0), and lost the 3-match ODI series (0-3). The first and only victory they managed was in the T20 match. Williamson had played well in the first Test (114 and 74) and Corey Anderson smashed a century in the second match. But Sohag Gazi took away the first Test from New Zealand (8 wickets and a century) while Mominul Haque (47 runs, and 126 runs) saved the second Test.
In recent years, Kiwis hosted the Bangladesh cricket team for two Tests and 3 ODIs in 2018-19. The hosts clean swept the ODI series (3-0), and won the 3-Test series (2-0), while 1 Test was abandoned. The Player of the series Guptill scored the most runs from both sides (264 runs). In the Tests, Wagner was the highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets. Tamim Iqbal (278 runs) scored the most runs from both sides followed by Williamson (274 runs).
Kiwis played their first Test against West Indies in 1952. Overall they played 45 Test matches, won 14 of them, lost 12 and 19 Tests ended in a draw. The two sides played their first ODI in the 1975 ICC World Cup’s second semi-final match. Since then they played 65 ODIs, out of which New Zealand won 28, West Indies won 30, and 7 ODIs ended in no-results. Their first T20 clash was in February 2006 at Eden Park, Auckland. Till today, both the sides played 16 T20Is, out of which the Black Caps won 9 matches, and lost 5, while 2 T20Is ended in no-results. In the ongoing series between New Zealand and West Indies, Kiwis won the 3-T20 series by 2-0, and one the first of the two-match Test series thanks to Kane Williamson’s prolific 251 runs that included 34 boundaries and two sixes. Southee and Wagner bowled brilliantly and grabbed 4-wickets each in the first and second innings respectively.
New Zealand won their first Test series against West Indies in 1979/80, playing at home. Black Caps played one ODI and 3 Tests against West Indies. Sir Richard Hadlee led the side defeating the visitors in the ODI with his all-round performance (41 runs in 33-balls and 2 wickets) outshining Sir Gordon Greenidge’s century. Also, Hadlee’s 5-wickets hauls in both the innings of the first Test of the series sealed the match by 1-wicket.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka played their first One Day International match against each other in the 1979 Prudential World Cup. Their first Test match was in 1983 while the first T20 clash happened in 2006. They played 36 Tests so far, out of which New Zealand won 16, lost 9 and 11 Tests were drawn. In ODIs and T20s too, the Black Caps have the upper hand. Out of 99 ODIs, they won 49, lost 41 ODIs, tied 1 and 8 matches ended without results. In T20, New Zealand won 10 out of 19 games, lost 8, and 1 match was abandoned.
Their recent ODI clashes occurred in ICC 2019 World Cup, where both sides won 1-1 match. Thereafter, New Zealand visited Sri Lanka for 2 Tests and 3 T20Is. The Test series ended in a draw (1-1) but the Black Caps clinched the 3-match T20 series by 2-1.
New Zealand and Pakistan have been playing against each other since 1955. It started with the 3-match Test series, which Pakistan won by 2-0. Since then, they played 58 Tests out of which Kiwis won 12, Pakistan won 25 and they drew 21 Tests. The first ODI between these two sides occurred in 1973. Out of 107 ODIs they played, New Zealand won 48, lost 55, tied 1 and 3 matches were abandoned. In the Twenty-20 format too New Zealand lag with 8 wins and 13 losses from 21 encounters.
The last time two sides met was in the 2019 ICC World Cup, which Pakistan won by 6 wickets. Before that, they met in UAE for 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, and 3 Tests. Pakistan won the T20 series by 3-0, the Test series ended in a draw while New Zealand won the ODI series by 2-1.
Pakistan halted the dream run of New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup by defeating them in the Semi-Final match by 4 wickets. Crowe’s spectacular of 91 runs went in vain due to Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 37-balls 60.
New Zealand played their first Test ever against England in 1930 at Christchurch, as a part of the 4-match Test series. Though New Zealand lost the first match, they drew the remaining 3. Since then, both the teams played 105 Tests out of which New Zealand won 11, lost 48 and drew 46 matches. The two sides played 91 ODIs from which New Zealand won 43, England won 41, 4 tied and 4 matches were abandoned. From 21 T20 encounters, New Zealand won 8 matches, England 12, and 1 match was abandoned.
In November 2020, New Zealand hosted England for 5 T20 matches and 2 Tests. The visitors won the T20 series 3-2. New Zealand bounced back in the Tests series, by drawing the first match and winning the concluding match by an innings and 65 runs. Bradley-John Watling became the player of the match for his stunning double-ton.
In 1999, New Zealand played the four-match Tests series in England. It is the only Test series in which the Black Caps won more than one Test in a series against England. Chris Cairns’ contribution was huge for his 183 runs, and 19 wickets in four Tests, which include two 5-wickets hauls in the second and the last Tests. Cairns shared the Player of the Series award along with Andy Caddick who took 20 wickets in that series, as New Zealand clinched the Test series by 2-1.
Player | Mat | INNS | R | SR | Bt Avg |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
James NeeshamNeesham | 45 | 45 | 704 | 158.91 | 23.46 |
Finn AllenFinn Allen | 47 | 47 | 1141 | 158.69 | 24.27 |
Glenn PhillipsGlenn Phillips | 59 | 59 | 1657 | 144.58 | 36.02 |
Martin GuptillGuptill | 30 | 30 | 981 | 141.15 | 32.7 |
Mark ChapmanChapman | 43 | 43 | 926 | 140.72 | 29.87 |
Daryl MitchellMitchell | 54 | 54 | 1228 | 139.54 | 27.9 |
Tim RobinsonTim Robinson | 4 | 4 | 83 | 136.06 | 20.75 |
Tim SeifertSeifert | 31 | 31 | 673 | 133 | 24.03 |
Chad BowesBowes | 11 | 11 | 205 | 132.25 | 18.63 |
Kyle JamiesonJamieson | 5 | 5 | 44 | 125.71 | 14.66 |
Rachin RavindraRavindra | 21 | 21 | 258 | 125.24 | 16.12 |
Michael BracewellM Bracewell | 15 | 15 | 167 | 124.62 | 16.7 |
Devon ConwayConway | 45 | 45 | 1266 | 123.63 | 34.21 |
Todd AstleTodd Astle | 1 | 1 | 16 | 123.07 | 16 |
Dane CleaverCleaver | 7 | 7 | 134 | 121.81 | 26.8 |
Josh ClarksonJosh Clarkson | 3 | 3 | 48 | 120 | 24 |
Kane WilliamsonWilliamson | 31 | 31 | 889 | 119.16 | 32.92 |
Tim SoutheeSouthee | 19 | 19 | 80 | 114.28 | 8 |
Mitchell SantnerSantner | 36 | 36 | 331 | 113.35 | 15.04 |
Trent BoultBoult | 7 | 7 | 36 | 112.5 | 18 |
Tom LathamLatham | 13 | 13 | 353 | 111.35 | 35.3 |
Cole McConchieMcConchie | 9 | 9 | 102 | 108.51 | 17 |
Dean FoxcroftFoxcroft | 4 | 4 | 79 | 108.21 | 19.75 |
Ish SodhiIsh Sodhi | 29 | 29 | 126 | 105 | 6.3 |
Tom BlundellBlundell | 6 | 6 | 74 | 101.36 | 14.8 |
Henry ShipleyShipley | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100 | - |
Adam MilneMilne | 13 | 13 | 62 | 98.41 | 6.2 |
Will YoungWill Young | 18 | 18 | 257 | 97.34 | 15.11 |
Henry NichollsNicholls | 5 | 5 | 81 | 96.42 | 20.25 |
Jacob DuffyJacob Duffy | 3 | 3 | 17 | 94.44 | 17 |
Lockie FergusonFerguson | 13 | 13 | 28 | 84.84 | 4 |
Ben SearsBen Sears | 5 | 5 | 14 | 73.68 | 7 |
Colin de Grandhommede Grandhomme | 5 | 5 | 18 | 72 | 3.6 |
Doug BracewellD Bracewell | 1 | 1 | 5 | 71.42 | 5 |
Matt HenryMatt Henry | 5 | 5 | 14 | 63.63 | 4.66 |
Ajaz PatelAjaz Patel | 2 | 2 | 7 | 50 | 3.5 |
Blair TicknerTickner | 3 | 3 | 6 | 35.29 | 3 |
Ben ListerBen Lister | 3 | 3 | 1 | 16.66 | 0.5 |