New Zealand national cricket team facts for kids
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| Nickname(s) | Black Caps (Official) , Kiwis | ||||||||||||
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| Association | New Zealand Cricket | ||||||||||||
| Personnel | |||||||||||||
| Test captain | Tom Latham | ||||||||||||
| Coach | Gary Stead | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| Test status acquired | 1930 | ||||||||||||
| International Cricket Council | |||||||||||||
| ICC status | Full Member (1926) | ||||||||||||
| ICC region | East Asia-Pacific | ||||||||||||
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| Tests | |||||||||||||
| First Test | v.  England at Lancaster Park, Christchurch; 10–13 January 1930 |
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| Last Test | v.  India at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai; 1–3 November 2024 |
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| World Test Championship appearances | 2 (first in 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Best result | Champions (2021) | ||||||||||||
| One Day Internationals | |||||||||||||
| First ODI | v.  Pakistan at Lancaster Park, Christchurch; 11 February 1973 |
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| Last ODI | v.  Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele; 19 November 2024 |
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| World Cup appearances | 13 (first in 1975) | ||||||||||||
| Best result | Runners-up (2015, 2019) | ||||||||||||
| Twenty20 Internationals | |||||||||||||
| First T20I | v.  Australia at Eden Park, Auckland; 17 February 2005 |
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| Last T20I | v. Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla; 10 November 2024 |
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| T20 World Cup appearances | 8 (first in 2007) | ||||||||||||
| Best result | Runners-up (2021) | ||||||||||||
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| As of 19 November 2024 | |||||||||||||
The New Zealand national cricket team plays for New Zealand in international men's cricket. They are often called the Black Caps. Their first ever Test match was in 1930 against England. This made New Zealand the fifth country to play Test cricket.
It took them 26 years to win their first Test match. This big win was against the West Indies in 1956. The team played its first ODI game in 1973 against Pakistan.
The Black Caps have won some major tournaments. They were the first champions of the World Test Championship in 2021. They also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000. They have reached the finals of the Cricket World Cup twice and the T20 World Cup once.
Currently, Tom Latham is the Test captain. New Zealand Cricket organizes the national team. The nickname "Black Caps" started in 1998. It came from a competition held by a sponsor. This name is like other New Zealand sports teams, such as the All Blacks rugby team.
As of late 2023, New Zealand has played over 1472 international matches. They have won 584 of these games. The team is ranked 5th in Tests, 5th in ODIs, and 4th in T20Is by the ICC.
Since 1975, New Zealand has played in all 29 major ICC men's events. They have reached six finals and won two titles. In 2000, they won the Knockout Trophy by beating India. In 2015, they reached their first Cricket World Cup final. They made it to the final again in 2019. In 2021, they won the first World Test Championship. A few months later, they reached their first T20 World Cup final.
Contents
- Cricket's Early Days in New Zealand
- New Zealand's First National Team
- Cricket Between the World Wars
- After World War II: New Zealand's First Test Win
- The Rise of Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe (1970-2000)
- The 21st Century: Tournament Successes
- International Cricket Grounds
- Current Team and Coaches
- Team Colours and Sponsors
- Tournament Achievements
- Team Honours
- Amazing Records and Achievements
- Images for kids
Cricket's Early Days in New Zealand
The first mention of cricket in New Zealand was in 1832. A missionary named Henry Williams wrote about boys playing cricket on a beach. In 1835, Charles Darwin saw Māori people playing cricket. He wrote about it in his book, The Voyage of the Beagle.
The first official cricket game in New Zealand was in Wellington in 1842. The first fully recorded match happened in Nelson in 1844.
The first international team to visit New Zealand was from England in 1863–64. Between 1864 and 1914, 22 teams from other countries toured New Zealand.
New Zealand's First National Team
The first team to represent New Zealand played against New South Wales in 1894. New South Wales won that game. But in 1896, New Zealand won their first match against New South Wales. The New Zealand Cricket Council was created in 1894.
In 1904–05, New Zealand played two games against a strong Australian team. New Zealand lost the second match by a very large margin.
Cricket Between the World Wars
In 1927, the New Zealand team toured England. They played many matches and won seven of them. Because of their good performance, New Zealand was allowed to play Test cricket. This meant their matches would be official "Tests."
In 1929–30, England toured New Zealand for four Test matches. New Zealand lost the first but drew the next three. In the second Test, Stewie Dempster and Jackie Mills made a huge partnership. They scored 276 runs together. This is still New Zealand's highest partnership against England.
After World War II: New Zealand's First Test Win
After World War II, New Zealand played Australia in 1945–46. This match was later given "Test" status. New Zealand did not play well, scoring only 42 and 54 runs.
In 1949, New Zealand sent a very strong team to England. Players like Bert Sutcliffe and Martin Donnelly were on the team. All four Test matches ended in a draw. Martin Donnelly scored 206 runs at Lord's, which was a famous innings.
New Zealand played against the West Indies for the first time in 1951–52. They also played Pakistan and India in 1955–56.
In 1954–55, New Zealand scored the lowest ever Test innings total: 26 runs against England. But the very next season, New Zealand got their first Test victory! It took them 45 matches and 26 years to win a Test. This historic win was against the West Indies in 1956.
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9, 10, 12, 13 March 1956
Scorecard |
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New Zealand
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157 all out (80 overs)
Sammy Guillen 41 Denis Atkinson 7/53 (40 overs) |
- New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat
In the next 20 years, New Zealand won only seven more Tests. They had great batsmen like Bert Sutcliffe and Glenn Turner. They also had a fantastic all-rounder, John R. Reid.
Reid led the team on a tour to South Africa in 1961–62. They drew the five-Test series 2–2. These were New Zealand's first Test wins overseas. New Zealand won their first Test series in 1969–70 against Pakistan. This was after almost 40 years without a series win.
The Rise of Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe (1970-2000)
In 1973, Richard Hadlee joined the team. New Zealand started winning Tests much more often. Hadlee was one of the best fast bowlers of his time. He played 86 Tests before retiring in 1990. New Zealand won 22 of those Tests.
In 1977–78, New Zealand won its first Test against England. This was after 48 attempts! Hadlee took 10 wickets in that match.
During the 1980s, New Zealand also had Martin Crowe, one of their best batsmen. Other good players like John Wright and Jeremy Coney also made important contributions.
A great example of the team's strength was in 1985 against Australia. Hadlee took 9 wickets in Australia's first innings. Then, Martin Crowe scored 188 runs. Hadlee took 6 more wickets in Australia's second innings. New Zealand won by a huge margin.
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8–12 November 1985
Scorecard |
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New Zealand |
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.
One-day cricket also became important. New Zealand players were good at scoring quick runs and bowling well. This helped them have a strong record in one-day games.
A famous one-day match was the "underarm" incident in 1981 against Australia. Australia bowled the last ball underarm to stop New Zealand from hitting a six. Many people thought this was very unsporting.
Chris Cairns joined the team in 1989, just before Hadlee retired. Cairns was a great all-rounder. Stephen Fleming, New Zealand's highest run-scorer, led the team into the 21st century.
Daniel Vettori started playing at 18 in 1997. He became captain in 2007 and was known as a top spinning all-rounder. In 2009, he became only the second left-arm bowler to take 300 wickets and score 3000 runs in Tests.
In 1996, the entire New Zealand team was named "Man of the Match" in a game against the West Indies. This was a very rare event!
| 3 April 1996 Scorecard |
New Zealand 158 (35.5 overs) |
v |  West Indies154 (49.1 overs) |
New Zealand won by 4 runs Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana Umpires: Clyde Duncan (WI) and Eddie Nicholls (WI) Player of the match: New Zealand |
| Craig Spearman 41 (39) Laurie Williams 3/16 (4.5 overs) |
Roland Holder 49* (86) Chris Cairns 2/17 (5.1 overs) |
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The 21st Century: Tournament Successes
New Zealand started the new millennium by winning their first ICC tournament. They won the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy in Kenya. They beat Zimbabwe and Pakistan to reach the final. In the final, they faced India. Chris Cairns scored 102 runs, leading New Zealand to victory.
| 15 October 2000 Scorecard |
India 264/6 (50 overs) |
v | New Zealand 265/6 (49.4 overs) |
New Zealand won by 4 wickets (with 2 balls remaining) Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi  KenyaUmpires: Steve Bucknor (WI) and David Shepherd (Eng) Player of the match: Chris Cairns (NZ) |
| Sourav Ganguly 117 (130) Scott Styris 2/53 (10 overs) |
Chris Cairns 102* (113) Venkatesh Prasad 3/27 (7 overs) |
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Shane Bond was a key bowler for New Zealand from 2001 to 2009. He took 87 wickets at a great average.
In 2011, Ross Taylor became Test captain. He led New Zealand to a thrilling win against Australia in 2011. In 2012–13, Brendon McCullum took over as captain. New players like Kane Williamson and Trent Boult became very important.
McCullum led New Zealand to series wins against West Indies, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In 2014, McCullum scored 302 runs in a Test match. He became New Zealand's first ever player to score a triple century.
In 2015, New Zealand reached the final of the Cricket World Cup. They were undefeated until the final, where they lost to Australia. Later that year, the team played under the name Aotearoa for a match against Zimbabwe. This was to celebrate Māori Language Week.
In February 2016, Kane Williamson became the captain after Brendon McCullum retired. Williamson led the team to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2016. They were ranked No. 1 in T20Is that year.
New Zealand won a tri-series in 2017. However, they had a tough time in the Champions Trophy that year. In 2018–19, they won a Test series against Pakistan away from home for the first time in 49 years. They also had strong performances against Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh.
In the 2019 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand reached their second final in a row. The final against England was tied after 50 overs and again after a "Super Over." England won because they had hit more boundaries. This rule was later changed by the ICC.
In December 2022, Kane Williamson stepped down as Test captain. Tim Southee took over this role. Williamson remains the captain for shorter forms of cricket.
International Cricket Grounds
New Zealand has several famous cricket grounds. These are the places where the Black Caps play their home international matches.
Some of the main grounds include:
- Basin Reserve in Wellington
- Eden Park in Auckland
- Hagley Oval in Christchurch
- Seddon Park in Hamilton
- Bay Oval in Tauranga
Current Team and Coaches
New Zealand Cricket has contracts with many players for the 2023–2024 season. These are the players who are part of the national team.
The current head coach of the Black Caps is Gary Stead. He leads the team's training and strategy. Other coaches help with batting, bowling, and fielding skills.
| Position | Name |
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| Team manager | Mike Sandle |
| Head coach | Gary Stead |
| Batting coach | Luke Ronchi |
| Bowling coach | Jacob Oram |
| Fielding coach | James Foster |
| Physiotherapist | Tommy Simsek |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Chris Donaldson |
Team Colours and Sponsors
New Zealand's cricket uniforms are made by Canterbury of New Zealand. In Test matches, players wear white clothes. Their shirts have logos from sponsors like Gillette and ANZ. They also wear black caps or white sun hats.
For one-day (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20) games, the uniforms are colourful. ODI kits are black with blue details. T20 kits are beige with black details. When playing in ICC tournaments, the uniforms have "NEW ZEALAND" written across the front.
In the past, New Zealand wore beige and brown uniforms in the 1980s. A fan group called the Beige Brigade made these uniforms popular again. Over the years, the team has had different sponsors and kit makers. Since 2014, ANZ has been the main sponsor. In 2023, a new deal was made with Castore to make the kits from October 2024.
Tournament Achievements
The Black Caps have a strong history in major cricket tournaments.
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup
New Zealand has played in every Cricket World Cup since 1975.
- In 1975, 1979, 1992, 1999, 2007, and 2011, they reached the semi-finals.
- They were runners-up (finished second) in 2015 and 2019. In 2019, they lost to England in a very close final.
- In 2023, they reached the semi-finals again.
ICC Men's T20 World Cup
New Zealand has also played in every T20 World Cup.
- They reached the semi-finals in 2007, 2016, and 2022.
- They were runners-up in 2021, losing to Australia in the final.
- In 2024, they did not advance past the group stage.
ICC World Test Championship
This is a newer tournament for Test cricket.
- New Zealand were the champions of the first World Test Championship in 2019–2021. They beat India in the final.
- In the 2021–2023 championship, they finished 6th.
ICC Men's Champions Trophy
This tournament is for One Day International cricket.
- New Zealand won the Champions Trophy in 2000, beating India in the final.
- They were runners-up in 2009, losing to Australia.
- They reached the semi-finals in 2006.
Commonwealth Games
Cricket was played at the Commonwealth Games in 1998.
- New Zealand won a bronze medal in 1998.
Team Honours
Here are the major awards and achievements of the New Zealand cricket team:
ICC Tournaments
- World Test Championship:
- Champions (1): 2019–2021
- World Cup:
- Runners-up (2): 2015, 2019
- T20 World Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 2021
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (1): 2000
- Runners-up (1): 2009
Other Achievements
- Commonwealth Games:
- Bronze medal (1): 1998
Amazing Records and Achievements
The Black Caps hold many impressive records in cricket history.
World Records
- Richard Hadlee was the first bowler to take 400 Test wickets. He held the world record for most Test wickets (431) for a time.
- Corey Anderson scored one of the fastest centuries in One Day Internationals. He reached 100 runs in just 36 balls against the West Indies.
- In 1996, the entire New Zealand team was given the "Man of the Match" award in an ODI. This was a unique event.
- Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe once had the highest partnership for the 3rd wicket in Tests. They scored 467 runs together in 1991.
- Nathan Astle hit the fastest double century in Test cricket history. He scored 200 runs off only 153 balls in 2002.
- Brendon McCullum holds the record for the fastest Test century. He scored 100 runs in just 54 balls in 2016.
- Brendon McCullum also holds the world record for hitting the most sixes in Test cricket, with 107.
- Brendon McCullum was the first player to score two centuries in Twenty20 International cricket.
- Martin Guptill scored the highest individual score in Cricket World Cups: 237 not out in 2015.
- Guptill also held the record for most career runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
- John Bracewell was the first substitute fielder to take four catches in a One Day International.
- Daniel Vettori was the first cricketer to take four wickets and score a half-century in both innings of a Test match.
- Colin Munro is the first player to score three centuries in Twenty20 International cricket.
- Ross Taylor is the first player to have played 100 matches in all three formats: ODIs, Tests, and T20Is.
- Chris Harris holds the record for the most "caught and bowled" dismissals in ODIs.
Other Notable Achievements
- Kane Williamson holds the record for the most centuries by a New Zealander in Tests, with 32.
- Brendon McCullum scored the highest Test innings by a New Zealander: 302 runs against India in 2014. He is New Zealand's only triple centurion.
- Brendon McCullum also holds the record for the most innings of 200 or more runs in Tests, with 4.
- Brendon McCullum scored the fastest World Cup fifty (50 runs) for New Zealand in 2015.
- Shane Bond took an ODI hat-trick (three wickets in three balls) in 2007.
- Tim Southee took a Twenty20 hat-trick, taking 5 wickets for 18 runs.
- Colin Munro scored the second fastest T20 International fifty, in just 14 balls.
- Chris Harris, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, and Chris Cairns are the only New Zealand players to take 200 wickets in ODIs.
- Chris Harris and Chris Cairns are the only two New Zealand players to score 4000 runs and take 200 wickets in ODIs.
- Ajaz Patel took all 10 wickets in one innings of a Test match. He was only the third player in international cricket history to do this.
Images for kids
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Scoreboard – Basin Reserve February 1978. New Zealand's first win over England.
