Test timeline: Black Caps vs England

RNZ takes a journey through the history of New Zealand vs England on the cricket pitch.

It may not quite have the rich history and traditions as the Ashes, but New Zealand and England have managed to carve out a strong test rivalry since they first met 95 years ago. RNZ looks back at some of the most memorable moments along the way.

NZ vs England in Tests

Matches-112

England- 52

New Zealand-13

Drawn- 47

1929- Baptism by fire

First ever test match.

The first ever series between the two nations, and the Kiwis held their own on home soil, managing three draws and just the one loss. The first test in Christchurch saw New Zealand go down by eight wickets with less than an hour remaining in a low scorer. In the second test in the capital, Stewie Dempster and Jackie Mills compiled 276 for the first wicket, declaring their second innings on 164 to chase the win, but ran out of time in the three-day game. Rain washed out two of the three days of the third test in Auckland, with a fourth being arranged. England racking up 540 in their first turn at bat at Eden Park, the hosts replying with 387, skipper Tom Lowry top scoring with 80. With England on the ropes at 22/3, time once again thwarted any chance of a result.

Fun fact - The fourth test in Auckland marked the first time a woman, Kiwi Alison Hall, had scored an international test.

1931- Playing at the home of cricket

First tour of England.

Just 18 months after their first series, New Zealand toured the home of cricket, making their first appearance at Lord's in the opening test. With England in trouble at 190-7 in the first innings, a 246-run stand helped them to 454. New Zealand responded with centuries to Dempster and Curly Page, managing a 15-run lead and another draw. The second test was less fruitful, New Zealand going down by an innings and 26 runs. Only 74 overs could be bowled in the third with rain washing out the opening two days, England taking the series 1-0.

Fun fact - Originally, only one test was planned, but due to their performance at Lord's, two tour matches were changed to additional tests.

1949- A golden age

Ending England tour with all four tests drawn.

This remains one of our finest hours on tour. Across four tests, New Zealand did not suffer defeat. Setting the tone for the tour at Leeds were Cowie and Tom Burtt who each bagged five-wicket hauls, Martin Donnelly then scoring 96 to keep the Kiwis in touch. The second test saw Donnelly produce one of the great knocks, 206 at Lord's, to take a substantial lead, only for England to hold on. In trouble in the third test, a Bert Sutcliffe century ensured his side were safe. The fourth was again a high-scoring back and fourth battle, Sutcliffe and John Reid leading the charge with 88 and 96 respectively. Fen Cesswell claimed six scalps in England's sole turn at bat, the tourists ending the three days well ahead of the English, but were beaten by the clock. Across all tests and tour games, New Zealand lost only once.

Fun fact - The side scored more runs in the first-class matches on tour than the 1948 Australian Invincibles.

1955- A new low

Dismissed for 26.

Eden Park was bathed in afternoon sunshine, but what would ensue remains New Zealand cricket's darkest day. Well beaten in the first test in Dunedin by eight wickets, it was on to Auckland to save the series. A sub-par 200 in their first stint looked much stronger after England were then rolled with a lead of just 46. But then, disaster. The stats make for very ugly reading. New Zealand lost their first wicket with six on the board, it was freefall from there at 2-8, 3-9, 4-14, 5-14, 6-22, 7-22, 8-22, 9-26 and finally two balls later, 26 all out. A top score of 11, five ducks, one boundary, 27 overs, a run rate of 0.96. A world record low total.

Fun fact - Yes, the record still stands!

1975- Physio saves life

Ewen Chatfield struck on the head.

A terrifying chapter in the history of these cricketing nations, with the first test in Auckland almost ending in tragedy. Playing his first test, Ewen Chatfield was batting at 11 and unbeaten on 13 when he was hit in the head by a bouncer from Peter Lever. With no helmets worn at the time, Chatfield suffered a fractured skull, and his heart stopped beating. Believing he had just killed someone, a distraught Lever slumped to his knees. Miraculously, English physio Bernard Thomas brought Chatfield back to life with CPR. Thankfully Chatfield made a full recovery, but had to wait two years for the second of his 43 Test caps. England won the test by 83 runs.

(Not so) Fun fact - It took another two years for the first helmet to be used in international cricket.

1978- Hadlee's perfect ten

First win over England.

It took half a century of attempts to knock over our colonial masters at their own game, and it took one of the most legendary bowling performances to do it as the great Sir Richard Hadlee led his troops to victory in an inspiring spell. Taking 4 for 74 in the first innings, England skipper Geoff Boycott top scored in the match with 77 illustrating the tricky nature of the Wellington pitch. The tourists were set 137 at the Basin Reserve in the final innings as New Zealand mustered just 123 in their second bat. However, the man they called 'Paddles,' dished out a plethora of punishment as the English capitulated to 64 all out, the Kiwi icon ripping through the English line up with 6/26.

Fun fact - It had taken 48 years for New Zealand to finally beaten England, their win coming in the 48th test between the two.

1983- First test win in England

Beating England in England for the first time.

The 80s marked a decade of firsts for New Zealand cricket, starting with a first ever win on English soil following 17 defeats and 11 draws. Beaten in the opening test at The Oval by 189 runs, a ruthless display from Lance Cairns had England reeling. Cairns claimed 7 for 74 as England fell to 225 all out. Bruce Edgar retired hurt with the score on 26, only to return with 84 to give the tourists a solid lead. England replied with a David Gower century and 252, but it would see New Zealand chasing just 103 for the win, and they made hard work of it, losing five wickets before reaching the total. Cairns finished 10 for 144. They went on to lose the final two tests and the series 3-1.

Fun fact - Richard Hadlee did not take any wickets in the win, but contributed 75 with the bat.

1984- Kiwi conquerers

Winning a series against the English for the first time.

An absolute demolition job. Having drawn the first test in Wellington, the Kiwis went 1-0 up in emphatic fashion in Christchurch. Forced to follow on after posting 307 courtesy of a blazing 81 ball 90 from Hadlee, New Zealand then dismissed England twice for less than 100 runs. Hadlee again sent the English packing with 3 for 16 and 5 for 28 as the home side took the test by a innings and 132 runs inside three days, to claim their first ever series win against the old foe. The final test in Auckland was also drawn while English players dominated headlines back home not for their on field actions, but rather their use of cannabis and womanising off it.

Fun fact - Dubbed the 'Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll Tour' by English media due to the antics of the side off the field.

1986 - Another hoodoo broken

A first series win in England.

A crushing win in the second test at Trent Bridge proved the difference with both the first and second tests drawn as New Zealand made more history over England. A century from Martin Crowe and a six-wicket haul for Hadlee in the opening stalemate, the Kiwis took strong form to Nottingham and yet another six-wicket Hadlee haul had England all out for 256. New Zealand obliterated that with 413, John Bracewell raising his bat with 110. A further four in the second gave Hadlee ten for the match, England setting the tourists just 77 which they cruised to with the loss of only two wickets. Wright and rain ruined England's chance to square things up, the opener spending seven hours at the crease for a dogged 119 from 343 deliveries.

Fun fact - With their wicketkeeper concussed, retired England player Bob Taylor was called away from his match hosting duties to keep wicket.

1990- A fitting finale

Sir Richard Hadlee takes a wicket against England with his final ball in test cricket.

Well beaten in this Birmingham test after England batted New Zealand out of the game with 435, the match is remembered as Hadlee's swansong, and he bowed out in appropriate fashion. Already sitting on four scalps, Hadlee had England tailender Devon Malcolm trapped in front, and the country's greatest ever bowler ended an incomparable test career with a 431st and final wicket. This test also marked the final tours for Martin Snedden and John Wright.

Fun fact - Thanks in large part to Hadlee's torment, this was Enlgand's first significant test win at home in five years.

1994 - England survive whip-Nash

Dion Nash becomes the first ever cricketer to take a ten wicket haul and score a test half century at Lord's.

It wasn't enough to get them over the line, but the second test of the series was the Dion Nash show. A Crowe century in their first innings propelled the Kiwis to 476, before Nash's 6-76 restricted the hosts to 281. However, despite a comfortable lead, a laboured second stint at bat saw the Black Caps struggle to 211 for 5 declared. Despite delivering again with 5 for 93, Nash's efforts weren't enough as New Zealand couldn't find the final two wickets and would continue to wait for a win at Lord's. In just his fifth test, Nash took figures of 11 for 169, while also scoring a half century, a feat no player had achieved at a Lord's test before.

Fun fact - Each England player was fined almost $800 for slow over rates in the second innnings.

1999- Banishing Lord's demons

First test win at Lord's.

There was still one last monkey to get off the Black Cap's back, and that was beating England at the home of cricket. Still just our fifth win in 80 tests against England, but arguably the one they wanted most, having failed in 13 attempts. It had been 16 years since his father's heroics, and now it was Chris Cairns causing havoc for the hosts, dismantling the English batsmen with 6 for 77 as they collapsed to 186 all out. Opener Matt Horne dug the knife in further with a century, Roger Twose and Daniel Vettori chipping in with fifties. Another poor showing with the bat meant the Kiwis required just 60 for the win, and they got there with nine wickets in hand. New Zealand also won the four-test series 2-1.

2002- Astle's assault

Nathan Astle scores record breaking double century.

It was one of the most remarkable test innings in history, but Nathan Astle's astonishing double ton was ultimately in vain as England eventually took a win which should have come much earlier. Enter Astle. The first test was not going well for the Kiwis. Just 147 in the first innings opened the door for England to set a formidable 550. Batting at five, Astle had made a brisk century from 114 balls, before Chris Drum was out with the score at 333-9. With Chris Cairns returning to the crease injured and resigned to holding up an end, Astle decided to tee off and began repeatedly sending the English, and in particular Andy Caddick, into orbit in Christchurch. A total of 28 fours and 11 shotgun-sounding sixes, fans dared to dream, however just as the target rocketed below 100, the fireworks fizzled as Astle nicked behind on 222 from 168, mercifully ending the onslaught.

Fun fact - Astle lost Man of the Match to Graham Thorpe who also scored a double century in the first innings.

2013-England's great escape

Matt Prior digs in to force dramatic draw

An enthralling encounter at Eden. A somewhat forgotten man in New Zealand cricket, Peter Fulton produced his finest performance at the top of the order with scores of 136 and 110 as a six-wicket haul for Trent Boult left England needing 481. Queue classic test cricket theatre as Williamson's late strikes brought batting bunny Monty Panesar to the crease with Prior unbeaten on triple figures at the other end. The pair survived 19 nail-biting deliveries as England clung on to deny New Zealand both the test and series win.

Fun fact - It took Stuart Broad a world record 103 minutes to score a run in the second innings.

2023- Neil-ing the Deal

One run victory for Black Caps at Basin Reserve, Wellington.

Absolutely gripping drama at the Basin. Not just the greatest test between the two nations, but one of the greatest test matches period. England started strongly with 435 for 8 declared, while the Black Caps could only muster 209 with Tim Southee saving things with 73. Their second stint at bat was far more fruitful, 132 from Kane Williamson and 90 from Tom Blundell putting the home side 256 ahead. At 201 for 5, the English appeared to be cantering home, before Neil Wagner stepped up to remove both Ben Stokes and Joe Root. Southee and Matt Henry picked up a crucial further two wickets to leave England needing seven to win with one wicket in hand. James Anderson reduced the target with a boundary and eventually they needed just two runs to win. But Wagner had other ideas, and when Anderson flicked one down leg to Blundell, the Basin erupted. New Zealand were home - by the barest of margins.