Tom Latham | New Zealand Captain: We were going to have a bowl first but if you get through the first bit it gets easier to bat. The public has got right behind us, having a series against England now is great timing. Sold-out crowds here and at the Basin, should be great. Any time someone makes their debut, it's a special time. He (Nathan Smith) fits the balance of our bowling nicely.

England have won the toss and have opted to field

Ben Stokes:

England have won the toss and have opted to field

10:05 Local Time, 21:05 GMT, 02:35 IST: With the highs of whitewashing India barely having sunk in, New Zealand get ready to take on a purposeful England side - a side that’ll be keen on putting some of the chatter about Bazball not quite being as effective whilst they travel to bed. Both teams compete for a newly carved Crowe-Thorpe trophy in a 3-match series and we’re at the beautiful Hagley Oval at Christchurch for the 1st Test. News snippets of note leading up to this game are that Jacob Bethell will be making his debut with regular keeper Jamie Smith on paternity leave and that Ollie Pope is set to take on the gloves and slide down to number six. New Zealand too are set to have a debutant with all-rounder Nathan Smith getting a cap. Also quite interestingly but not very unexpectedly, Kane Williamson slots straight back into the side in place of Will Young who was Man of the Series against India just a couple of weeks ago. Early pictures of the pitch showed it was quite green but that’s hardly anything to go by as pitches in New Zealand have produced some great contests of late. Stick around, we’ll keep you posted with everything you need to know.

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William ORourke

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope(w), Ben Stokes(c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir

Preview

The last 12 months have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for the New Zealand Test side. They had won only one series out of four - against a depleted South African side - heading into the three Tests in India and the issues were compounded with Tim Southee stepping down as captain after the 2-0 series defeat in Sri Lanka. And no one had given them a chance. From bowling out India for 46 on the first morning of play in Bengaluru, everything went right for New Zealand across the series, clinching key moments across the three games. With nothing to lose they managed to do the unthinkable, a 3-0 series whitewash against India in India. An achievement no touring side has ever done before on Indian shores, made even bigger as Kane Williamson had been ruled out of the series.

Suddenly, New Zealand have it all to play for once again with a berth in the World Test Championship final still remaining a possibility, provided other results do go their way. This will also be the swansong Test series for former skipper and fast-bowler Tim Southee if they do not qualify for the final at Lord's, and the hosts will look to give him a grand send-off.

England, on the other hand, come into this series looking to bounce back from the 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan in October in what they would consider to be very alien conditions. Their idea of continuously being aggressive even in tricky situations with 'Bazball' has let them down on both of their tours to the sub-continent this year with wickets falling in clumps despite one batter getting his eye in.

The same was on show in the two day warm-up game heading into the series. Barring Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Ben Stokes who each scored a half-century, none of the other batters were able to convert their starts into big scores. England had last won a series in New Zealand in 2008 under Michael Vaughan which was also coincidentally when Tim Southee made his Test debut. On the quicker tracks in New Zealand, the tourists will feel a lot more at home and look to rewrite history after 16 long years.

When: November 28 to December 2, 2024; 11:00am Local Time | 10pm GMT (Nov 27) | 3:30am IST

Where: Hagley Oval, Christchurch

What to expect: The weather in Christchurch is expected to be cloudy on most days but there is no rain expected to intervene play. Hagley Oval has always been favourable to bowlers on Day 1 but it gradually gets easier to bat on as four of the five highest chases in New Zealand have all come on this ground, with two of them coming in the last two years.

Team news

New Zealand: Tom Latham confirmed in a press conference ahead of the game that Kane Williamson will replace Player of the Series in India, Will Young, while all-rounder Nathan Smith will make his Test debut.

Probable XI: Devon Conway, Tom Latham (C), Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Blundell (wk), Nathan Smith , Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke

England: The visitors announced their XI for the match two days out. Jordan Cox was set to make his debut but an injury in practice has ruled him out of the series and with Jamie Smith unavailable, Ollie Pope will take the gloves. Batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell will make his Test debut at no. 3.

Confirmed XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (C), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir

What they said:

"Steady (Gary Stead) had that conversation with Young and I followed up. As I said, he's a great team man and certainly did nothing wrong. It was a tough decision to make but I guess when you're in a position to make tough calls, it means your team is in a good spot so yeah, obviously gutted for Young but excited with Kane coming back" - Tom Latham on dropping Young for Williamson

Squads:

England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope(w), Ben Stokes(c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Olly Stone

New Zealand Squad: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William ORourke, Jacob Duffy, Will Young