Captains: Tim Southee (Test), Kane Williamson (ODI, T20I)
Coaches: Gary Stead (head coach), Luke Ronchi (batting coach), Jacob Oram (bowling coach), James Foster (fielding coach)
First international match: 1930
Cricket board: New Zealand Cricket (NZC)
ICC titles: 2
New Zealand Men’s Cricket Team History
New Zealand is known for being a small country that does very well in cricket despite having fewer people than most other Test-playing nations. They have won two major ICC trophies: the World Test Championship in 2021 and the ICC KnockOut Trophy in 2000. They also reached the finals of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and made it to the semi-finals or finals in five of their first eight T20 World Cup appearances.
New Zealand’s men’s cricket team played their first Test match in 1930, but it took them 26 years to win their first Test. In the 1970s and 1980s, they began to improve a lot, thanks to the legendary allrounder Richard Hadlee, who became the first bowler to take 400 wickets in Test cricket.
During this time, New Zealand also had great players like Martin Crowe, one of their best-ever batters, and others like John Wright, Lance Cairns, and Jeremy Coney. This helped them perform well in the early ODI World Cups, where they reached the semi-finals in the first two tournaments.
New Zealand were slower to create a fully professional cricket system, but it eventually helped them build strong teams. Captains like Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, and Kane Williamson, who is considered one of their best batters ever, have led the team to success. McCullum’s leadership brought a fearless style to the team, and New Zealand holds the records for the fastest Test century (54 balls by McCullum) and the fastest double-century (153 balls by Nathan Astle).
Even though New Zealand does not have its own T20 league like other countries, their players, such as Trent Boult and James Neesham, are popular around the world and play in different T20 leagues. The team continues to adapt and succeed in the changing world of cricket.
New Zealand Men’s Cricket Team Current Ranking
| Format | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Tests | 5 |
| ODIs | 5 |
| T20Is | 5 |
New Zealand Men’s Cricket Team Trophies and Milestones
| Year | Achievement | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | First Test match win | Auckland |
| 1962 | First overseas Test match win | Cape Town |
| 1969 | First Test series win | Pakistan |
| 2000 | ICC KnockOut Trophy win | Nairobi |
| 2019 | Tied ODI World Cup final, lost on boundary count | London (Lord’s) |
| 2021 | World Test Championship win | Southampton |
