England will take on New Zealand in a three-match Test series starting Thursday. The ENG vs NZ 1st Test will be played at the Lord's from 3:30 p.m. IST onwards. England have named uncapped Emilio Gay and Sonny Baker in their 12-member squad for the 1st Test against New Zealand. The squad also sees the return of Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson for the first time since February 2024. This Test series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27.
One of the big names missing from the first Test is Jofra Archer. The fast bowler was part of the Rajasthan Royals team, which was defeated by the Gujarat Titans in the IPL qualifier last week. Defending the decision in a pre-match press conference, England skipper Ben Stokes said he "totally understands people's frustrations around the situation".
'There is another side to it, and a lot of it's got to do with the landscape of cricket and where it is at the moment. I think a lot of the points that people have been making around Jof and that situation are to do with the landscape when they were playing. But it's completely different now. There are opportunities for cricketers now that there weren't 10, 15, 20 years ago," he added.
England will also aim to look beyond the series defeat against Australia in the Ashes 2025-26 when they take the field at Lord's on Thursday. Whereas New Zealand will look to continue their winning run. In their last Test outing on May 27, the Kiwis defeated Ireland by an innings and 79 runs.
New Zealand are currently second in the WTC Standings with two wins from three Test matches. Ben Stokes' England sit at seventh with just three wins in 10 matches. The last time these two sides met in a Test series saw England secure a 2-1 victory during their tour of New Zealand in 2024.
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England vs New Zealand 1st Test: Date And Time
The 1st Test between England and New Zealand will begin on June 4 at 3:30 p.m. IST.
England vs New Zealand 1st Test: Venue
The 1st Test between England and New Zealand will take place at Lord's Cricket Ground, London.
New Zealand Tour Of England 2026: Live Telecast In India
The ENG vs NZ Test series will be telecast live on the Sony Sports channel.
England vs New Zealand 1st Test: Live Streaming In India
Fans can livestream the England vs New Zealand 2026 Test series on the SonyLIV app.
England vs New Zealand 1st Test: Toss Update
New Zealand won the toss and opted to field
England vs New Zealand 1st Test: Playing XI
England: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (C), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, William ORourke.
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