WTC25: England tour of New Zealand confirmed, series starts on November 28

New Zealand Cricket have announced dates and locations for the England Test series, beginning in late November. Hagley Oval in Christchurch, the Basin Reserve in Wellington, and Seddon Park in Hamilton will host New Zealand's three Tests, all part of the ongoing 2023-2025 World Test Championship. New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink says the early announcement of England's Test tour comes after a surge in popularity in the long format, where seven of the eight days of the two Tests against Australia earlier this year were sold out. "In the past, there's often been a lot of talk in New Zealand about the popularity of Test cricket - without that translating into ticket sales or viewership numbers," he said.

"The difference over the past summer, and in terms of the upcoming Tests against England, is that the interest is being converted to bums on seats and is driving record viewership numbers. "We're looking forward to that continuing over the upcoming summer, and to welcoming the England team and



their fans to the Tests, and of course all the Kiwi-based supporters as well." Winners of the first World Test Championship cycle in 2021, New Zealand sit in third on the 2023-2025 table, having collected 50% of possible points in their campaign thus far. The Black Caps claimed maximum points in their home series against South Africa and collected a win in their away two-match series with Bangladesh, before falling to a 2-0 series defeat to current defending World Test Champions Australia.

Both Australia and Sri Lanka women's teams, alongside Sri Lanka and Pakistan men's teams, will also be touring in the 2024/2025 summer. The remainder of New Zealand's home international schedule will be announced later.

New Zealand v England Test series

Thursday, 28 November - First Test - Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Friday, 6 December - Second Test - Basin Reserve, Wellington

Saturday 14 December - Third Test - Seddon Park, Hamilton