ENG vs NZ LIVE Streaming, New Zealand's tour Of England 2026: Preview, Schedule, Squads, ICC World Test Championship

England and New Zealand will lock horns in the first Test of the three-match series at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, London, on Thursday, June 4. This will be followed by the second Test at the Oval from June 17, and the third and final one will be played at Trent Bridge from June 25.

This will be England's first Test assignment after the humiliating 4-1 loss to Australia in the 2025-26 Ashes, while the Kiwis are coming off a thumping innings-and-79-run victory over Ireland.

While England have retained the leadership duo of Stokes and McCullum after the Ashes loss, they have made some significant changes in their Test squad for the home series against New Zealand.

The golden child of the Bazball initiative, Zak Crawley, who had an average of 31.18 in 64 Tests, had been dropped from the Test squad, and the English selectors have finally rewarded County performance by picking up Emilio Gay, who has plundered three centuries at 78.85 in the County Championship so far this season. He is set to make his debut in the first Test at Lord's and will most probably open along with Ben Duckett.

Meanwhile, the Three Lions have also recalled the six-foot-five-inch tall paceman, Olly Robinson, in the Test squad, ending his two-and-a-half-year-long hiatus from international cricket.

Robinson's banishment from England's squad had more to do with his slack standards rather than his performance, as he still averages 22.92 in 20 Tests, and his inclusion in the team signifies that the management's focus has now shifted more towards results than vibes.

Spotlight On Kane Williamson Ahead Of Opener

Though New Zealand lost their last Test series against England at home, their stature in the red-ball format has grown in recent times. Whether it was the World Test Championship victory in 2021 or whitewashing India 3-0 at their home, the Kiwis have shown that they are no longer the well-behaved underdogs and are equally potent anywhere in the world, with the likes of Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra in their ranks.

However, the spotlight in the Kiwis camp will be on the veteran Kane Williamson, who's most probably on his last tour to England. The 35-year-old has 9,497 runs to his name and is well on course to breach the coveted 10,000-run mark.

While it may look highly improbable for him to reach 10,000 runs in the testing conditions of England's early summer, Williamson would definitely like to get his name on the Lords' honors board for the second time in his career, and repeat the memorable performance of 2015 with the bat again.

World Test Championship Current Standings

England Vs New Zealand, 1st Test 2026: Squads

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Ben Stokes(c), Shoaib Bashir, Josh Tongue, Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker

New Zealand: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Dean Foxcroft, Nathan Smith, Zakary Foulkes, Blair Tickner, William ORourke, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry

England Vs New Zealand, 1st Test 2026: Streaming/Telecast Details