New Zealand National Cricket Team
New Zealand National Cricket Team: current squad
Ish Sodhi
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
61
James Neesham
All-rounder
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
50
Ross Taylor
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
3
Tim Southee
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
Trent Boult
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
18
New Zealand National Cricket Team: the strongest men's national team
Each country where cricket is a popular sport has its own national team created to participate in international tournaments, and New Zealand is no exception. The New Zealand National Cricket Team (also called the “Black Caps”) represents this country in international cricket tournaments of various formats. In this review, you will learn a brief history of the team, get acquainted with the current list of team members, and also find out what awards this team received.
New Zealand National Cricket Team: a brief history
The first recorded cricket game in New Zealand took place in December 1842 in Wellington. However, no one was in a hurry to assemble a team that would represent the country in matches with other national teams. Thus, the first New Zealand National Cricket Team was founded in 1894: it represented the New Zealand side in a match against New South Wales. The second, by the way, won with a difference of 160 runs.
In 1927, the New Zealand national team toured England. It played 26 first-class matches, playing mostly against county teams. The team won seven matches, thanks to which it received test status.
The New Zealand National Cricket Team played its first test match on January 10-13, 1930, against England. As expected, the team lost the first game. The New Zealand National Cricket Team had to achieve its first victory for 26 years: in 1956, they defeated the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland.
The team played its first ODI match on February 11, 1973, against Pakistan and Twenty20 on February 17, 2005, against Australia.
Currently, the New Zealand National Cricket Team is taking a new step in its development, which is confirmed at least by the team’s victory in the ICC World Test Championship. Surely we will still see a huge number of bright performances of this national team.
New Zealand National Cricket Team: current list of athletes
In this part of the article, we will talk about the current composition of the New Zealand National Cricket Team at the time of writing (June 2022). It is worth noting that the list of players may change from season to season. Therefore, we strongly recommend checking the current list of players before each start of a new season of games.
| Shirt Number | Name | Cricket Formats | Notes |
| Batsmen | |||
| 22 | Kane Williamson | TEST T20I | Captain (TEST, ODI, T20I) |
| 86 | Henry Nicholls | TEST ODI T20I | |
| 32 | Will Young | TEST ODI T20I | |
| 75 | Daryl Mitchell | TEST ODI T20I | |
| 31 | Martin Guptill | ODI T20I | |
| 4 | Michael Bracewell | ODI T20I | |
| 23 | Glenn Phillips | T20I | |
| 80 | Mark Chapman | ODI T20I | |
| Hamish Rutherford | TEST | ||
| Bowlers | |||
| 38 | Tim Southee | TEST T20I | Vice-Captain (T20I), Pace Bowler |
| 61 | Ish Sodhi | ODI T20I | Spin Bowler |
| 24 | Ajaz Patel | TEST T20I | Spin Bowler |
| 28 | William Somerville | TEST | Spin Bowler |
| 12 | Kyle Jamieson | TEST ODI T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 74 | Mitchell Santner | TEST ODI T20I | Spin Bowler |
| 18 | Trent Boult | TEST ODI T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 21 | Matt Henry | TEST ODI T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 10 | Neil Wagner | TEST | Pace Bowler |
| 34 | Doug Bracewell | ODI T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 13 | Blair Tickner | TEST ODI T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 20 | Adam Milne | T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 69 | Lockie Ferguson | T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 68 | Scott Kuggeleijn | T20I | Pace Bowler |
| 14 | Ben Sears | T20I | Pace Bowler |
| All-Rounders | |||
| 77 | Colin de Grandhomme | TEST ODI T20I | |
| 50 | James Neesham | ODI T20I | |
| 8 | Rachin Ravindra | TEST T20I | |
| Wicket-Keepers | |||
| 48 | Tom Latham | TEST T20I | Vice-Captain (TEST, ODI) |
| 88 | Devon Conway | TEST | |
| 66 | Tom Blundell | ODI | |
| 2 | Tim Seifert | T20I | |
| Cam Fletcher | |||
| Dane Cleaver | |||
| Coaches | |||
| Mike Sandle | Team manager | ||
| Gary Stead | Head coach | ||
| Luke Wright | Assistant Coach | ||
| Dion Ebrahim | Assistant Coach | ||
| Luke Ronchi | Batting Coach | ||
| Dean Brownlie | Batting Coach | ||
| Shane Jurgensen | Bowling Coach | ||
| Graeme Aldridge | Bowling Coach | ||
| Tommy Simsek | Physiotherapist | ||
| Chris Donaldson | Strength and Conditioning Coach | ||
| Paul Warren | Perfomance Analyst | ||
| Willy Nicholls | Media Correspondent | ||
It is also appropriate to tell here about the form of the players. Canterbury makes a set of clothes for matches for New Zealand athletes. In Test cricket, players from New Zealand have a white uniform, which is decorated with the sponsors’ logo (at the time of writing – Gillette) on the left on the shirt, as well as the ANZ logo on the left sleeve and in the middle of the shirt. In addition, the Canterbury logo is located on the right sleeve. New Zealand fielders may wear a black cap (a baseball cap rather than the baggy cap worn by players on some teams) or a white sun hat with the New Zealand Cricket logo in the middle. The helmets of the players are also painted black.
In cricket with a limited number of overs, the colors of the clothes are different. So, in ODI, the kit includes a black shirt with blue inserts and black trousers, and in Twenty20 – a beige shirt with black inserts and black trousers. The ANZ logo is centered on the uniform, the silver fern badge is on the left, the Canterbury logo is on the right sleeve, and the Ford logo is on the right on the uniform. In ICC tournaments, a modified clothing design is used, where the sponsors’ logos are moved to the sleeves, and the inscription “New Zealand” is on the front.
New Zealand National Cricket Team: venues
There are more than sixty modern cricket grounds on the territory of New Zealand. This does not mean that only cricket competitions are held on them; they are often used for other sporting events.
We invite you to get acquainted with some of the most significant stadiums:
- Eden Park (Auckland);
- Lancaster Park/Jade Stadium (Christchurch);
- Carisbrook (Dunedin);
- Village Green (Christchurch);
- McLean Park (Napier);
- And many others.
- Cricket in New Zealand is constantly evolving, so stadiums are being improved, equipped with new equipment. And where necessary, new cricket grounds are being built.
New Zealand National Cricket Team: awards and records
New Zealand cricket has a long and rich history, so it is not surprising that the New Zealand National Cricket Team has its own achievements in this sport. As of 2021, the team is the owner of the following trophies:
- World Test Championship: Champions (2019-2021).
- Champions Trophy: Champions (2000).
Yes, the list of awards for the guys is not extensive yet, but this does not mean that they will stop there. In addition, the New Zealand National Cricket Team has a wide range of world records. We tell you about the most interesting of them:
- Colin Munro is the first player to score three centuries in a Twenty20 International. This was achieved on January 3, 2018, in a match against the West Indies.
- In 1996, at the One Day International tournament, the entire New Zealand team was awarded the “Best Player of the Match” trophy against the West Indies, the first such case in cricket history.
- Brendon McCullum has set a world record for the fastest test century in the number of balls thrown. He scored 54 goals on February 20, 2016, against Australia during his Last test match in Christchurch.
Now you have all the necessary information about the New Zealand National Cricket Team that every fan of this sport needs to know. And how do you feel about the performances of this team? Share your opinion in the comments below this article.
