Cricket: England vs New Zealand

There has been some nail biting cricket games between England and New Zealand and it is impossible to separate the two cricket loving nations apart, so instead of arguing who the better team is, we’ve dug deep into the dusty archives in order to bring you some finer points that may help you win that pub sports quiz or at the very least give you a starting point in conversations involving these two greatly passionate countries and their love for cricket.

Did you know?

• Cricket has been traced to shepherds in England who started playing the early forms of cricket sometime in the 17th century.
• New Zealand were dismissed by England for 26 at Auckland in 1954-55 - a test record for the lowest team total.
• In a 1951 in a test versus England, Alex Moir of New Zealand bowled 2 successive over’s, the last before tea and the first after the interval! The only other time this happened in test cricket was in an Ashes test in 1921.
• New Zealand played their first Test match on 10th January, 1930 (at Jade Stadium, England won by 8 Wickets), and their first ODI on 11th February, 1973 (at Jade Stadium v. Pakistan, NZ won by 22 runs).
• The final of the NatWest series in 2004 was the first time the Kiwis have played at the home of cricket, Lord’s, they had played at grounds all around England in the past but never Lord’s.

Both teams have produced some outstanding players that have entertained the crowds with their skill and attitude to the game, here is a summery of some well known players from both sides including retired legends and stars who are still playing today that you should keep an eye out for:

Richard John Hadlee

3 July, 1951, Christchurch, New Zealand (retired)
Played for, New Zealand, Canterbury, Nottinghamshire, Tasmania
Batting style: Left-hand bat.
Bowling style Right-arm fast.
Statistics 86 Test matches, 115 ODIs.
Took 431 Test wickets (then a world record).
Test bowling average 22.29.
Best bowling performance 9 for 52 against Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane, in 1985-86.
10 wickets in a match 9 times.
5 wickets in a Test innings 36 times.
First-class wickets 1,490.

Shane Edward Bond

Born June 7, 1975, Christchurch, Canterbury
Current age 33 years 48 days
Major teams New Zealand, Canterbury, Delhi Giants, Hampshire, Warwickshire
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year 2006 & 2007!

Daniel Luca Vettori

Born January 27, 1979, Auckland
Current age 29 years 180 days
Major teams New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, Northern Districts, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Statistics 245 wickets in Tests at 34.80 apiece, while taking another 223 in ODIs averaging a healthy 32.80.
He is only the third Kiwi player to achieve the double of 200 wickets and score 2000 runs in Tests, after Sir Richard Hadlee and Chris Cairns.

Terence Botham OBE (retired)

born November 24, 1955 Cheshire
(Nicknamed "Both", "Beefy", "Beef" or "Guy the Gorilla")
Major Teams, England and Somerset CCC
Statistics: 102 Tests,5,200 runs at 33.54; taking 383 wickets at an average of 28.40; and holding 120 catches.
In first-class cricket, he scored 19,399 runs at 33.97, took 1,172 wickets at 27.22 and held 354 catches.
Wisden cricketer of the year in 1978.

Andrew Flintoff

born 6 December 1977, Preston
(Nicknamed Freddie) Height: 6ft 4in Bats
Right-Hand Bat Bowls: Right-Arm Fast
Major Teams: England, ICC World XI, Lancashire ODI: 1999 to date Tests: 1998 to date