New Zealand

Ollie Pope described his “relief” after recording his second Test hundred, and first on home soil, in the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, saying that he hoped his innings of 145 could be the start of a more consistent period of run-scoring for England after a difficult 18 months. He also paid

Lunch England 195 for 2 (Pope 84*, Lees 67, Root 35*) trail New Zealand 553 (Mitchell 190, Blundell 106) by 358 runs Alex Lees, the England opener, came into this second Test against New Zealand knowing full well he could do with making “a good score” but also believing that he could. So it would

With apologies to Rudyard Kipling, if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same, then your name is Daryl Mitchell. That is the only reasonable conclusion to come to about Mitchell’s reaction to a day on which he made his highest first-class score and dropped two catches at

Lunch New Zealand 412 for 5 (Mitchell 128*, Blundell 106, Bracewell 5*) vs England Centuries to Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell had New Zealand positively cruising at lunch on the second day of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge. Mitchell scored his second century in a row during a fluent knock which included

Losing one close game does not mean New Zealand are a poor side. Losing a fourth Test out of seven since becoming world Test champions, though? Two losses in one home summer, after just one loss in the previous five? A bit of a rough patch probably covers that, though two days out from the

When Daryl Mitchell struck Jack Leach into the crowd in front of the pavilion during the evening session at Trent Bridge, it didn’t just cost the England spinner six runs. Mitchell’s blow landed with a splash in a spectator’s pint, and might well have contributed to the day going flat for the home side. The

Lunch New Zealand 108 for 2 (Nicholls 14*, Conway 10*) vs England Ben Stokes and James Anderson punctured a promising start by New Zealand on the first morning of the second Test at Trent Bridge after Will Young and Tom Latham looked to be forging a solid opening stand. Young struck nine fours but fell

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter BJ Watling has been appointed Wellington Firebirds’ white-ball head coach, ahead of the upcoming domestic season. This will be the 36-year-old’s first role as head coach of a senior side, having been in charge of the Northern Districts A side after playing his last Test against India in the WTC final

Kane Williamson will miss the second LV= Insurance Test against England, starting at Trent Bridge on Friday, after testing positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the match. Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, took a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) after experiencing minor symptoms on Thursday, and will now begin five days of isolation. Tom Latham will

Ben Stokes, England’s captain, expects the feelgood factor from last week’s victory in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s to carry over to Trent Bridge this week, as he reminded his players to keep having “as much fun as you possibly can” in an England shirt. Stokes himself made an important half-century in

His latest knock may have been lauded by captain Ben Stokes as his best in an England shirt but, just eight innings into his Test career, England opener Alex Lees is experienced enough to know he needs to turn a series of starts into a substantial contribution. Speaking ahead of the second Test against New

Offspinner Eden Carson and wicketkeeper-batter Izzy Gaze have earned their maiden call-ups to the New Zealand squad for the T20 competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Left-arm spinner Fran Jonas, who has played five ODIs, and middle-order batter Georgia Plimmer, who was the replacement player for Lauren Down at the 50-over World Cup earlier this

Jacob Duffy, the New Zealand seamer, has signed for Kent on a short-term deal that will see him play two County Championship matches. Duffy, 27, was part of New Zealand’s enlarged squad for their ongoing Test series against England but was trimmed from the initial 20-man group ahead of the first Test at Lord’s, having

Colin de Grandhomme has been ruled out of the second and third Tests between England and New Zealand through injury. de Grandhomme pulled up short in his run-up with a ball left in his fourth over on the third day of the first Test at Lord’s and immediately left the field. Subsequent scans revealed a

England 141 (Crawley 43, Southee 4-55) and 279 for 5 (Root 115*, Stokes 54, Jamieson 4-79) beat New Zealand 132 (de Grandhomme 42*, Potts 4-13, Anderson 4-66) and 285 (Mitchell 108, Blundell 96) After three madcap days to begin England’s new era of Test cricket under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, there was an air

Matt Parkinson has been retained in England’s 14-man squad for the second Test against New Zealand, starting at Trent Bridge on Friday, with Jack Leach a doubt after suffering a concussion in the first session of the first Test at Lord’s. Parkinson took 1 for 47 from his 15.3 overs in New Zealand’s second innings

The emotion was plain for Joe Root as he soaked up the acclaim from an enraptured Lord’s crowd. A phenomenally composed 115 not out, his 26th Test hundred but his first in the fourth innings, had guided England to a gripping five-wicket win over New Zealand in the first Test of the English summer, and

Lunch England 141 and 31 for 1 (Crawley 9*, Pope 0*) need 246 runs to beat New Zealand 132 and 285 (Mitchell 108, Blundell 96) Stuart Broad sparked a New Zealand collapse which left England with an attainable target by lunch on the third day of the first Test at Lord’s. The last time these

Lunch New Zealand 132 and 38 for 3 (Conway 6*, Mitchell 2*, Potts 2-11, Anderson 1-14) lead England 141 (Crawley 43, Southee 4-55) by 29 runs Wickets continued to tumble at Lord’s, on the second day of the first Test, with debutant England seamer Matthew Potts adding to the good impression he made in the

After a staggering first day of punch and counter-punch at Lord’s, Durham’s debutant Matthew Potts promised there would be no let-up in England’s pedal-to-the-metal approach in the first LV= Insurance Test against New Zealand, after warming to the theme of a chaotic day with the standout figures of 4 for 13 in 9.2 overs. If

Toss: New Zealand chose to bat vs England Kane Williamson called correctly and opted to bat on the first Test surface of the English summer, with New Zealand boosted by the inclusion of Trent Boult after his late dash from the IPL. They also selected the spinner, Ajaz Patel, ahead of Neil Wagner and Matt

Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, insists that his troublesome left elbow will withstand the rigours of Test cricket as he prepares to lead his side for the first time in six months in the first Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday. Williamson has missed New Zealand’s last five Tests due to a tendon injury

Ben Stokes, England’s new Test captain, insists the first LV= Insurance Test against New Zealand at Lord’s is a “blank canvas” for his team, rather than the start of the much-vaunted “red-ball reset”, and hopes that his partnership with head coach, Brendon McCullum, will allow the players to feel they are “ten feet tall” when

Tim Southee is preparing to make his fifth appearance at Lord’s, a ground where his name is already etched on the visiting dressing room honours board twice. When he first played in St John’s Wood, in only his second Test back in 2008, Brendon McCullum led the way for New Zealand by thrashing 97 off

The MCC have defended setting “premium” ticket prices for England’s first Test under new leadership against New Zealand at Lord’s this week, with a significant number of tickets still available across the first four days. The Test takes place on a bank-holiday weekend for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, meaning Thursday and Friday are both national

New Zealand have named Henry Nicholls and Trent Boult in their 15-man squad for the first Test against England at Lord’s, although both have been described as “unlikely” starters. Nicholls has been recovering from a calf injury sustained in training before leaving New Zealand, and has not had any game time in the build-up to

Australia’s home international season will begin in late August and the men’s team faces one of their busiest summers as the catch-up of Covid-impacted series continues in the final months of the current future tours programme. The men’s side will face Zimbabwe (ODIs), New Zealand (ODIs), West Indies (T20Is and Tests), England (T20Is and ODIs)

County Select XI 247 (James 52, Patel 3-32) and 264 for 3 (Compton 119, Gubbins 67*) beat New Zealanders 362 for 9 (Henry 65, Mitchell 58, Fletcher 50*, Patterson-White 3-60) and 148 (Porter 5-31, Gibbon 3-36) by seven wickets New Zealand were beaten by seven wickets in their final warm-up game ahead of Thursday’s first

County Select XI 247 and 112 for 1 (Compton 56*) need a further 152 to beat New Zealanders 362 for 9 dec (Henry 65, Mitchell 58, Fletcher 50*) and 148 (Porter 5-31) After four playing days of largely serene progress in their build-up towards the first Test, New Zealand were blindsided by the County Select

New Zealanders 362 for 9 dec (Henry 65, Mitchell 58, Fletcher 50*) and 0 for 0 lead County Select XI 247 (James 52, Patel 3-32) by 115 runs New Zealand’s bowlers enjoyed a successful workout on the second day of their four-day warm-up against a County Select XI at Chelmsford, dismissing their opponents for 247