New Zealand after spending a week in Southampton reached London for the first Test of the two-match series against hosts England starting June 2. (More Cricket News)
The Blackcaps were acclimatising to the conditions in Southampton which will host the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India next month.
The Blackcaps are scheduled to play England in two Tests, in London and Birmingham, starting June 2. They then face India in the WTC final from June 18-22.
"The New Zealand team travels to London today," the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) wrote on its official Twitter handle on Saturday.
As part of their preparation for the WTC final, the Kiwis played a three-day team intra-squad game in Southampton.
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The ICC on Friday unveiled the playing conditions for the WTC final. Both teams will be adjudged joint winners if their final clash ends in a draw or tie.
England meanwhile have their own agenda from this two-match series. As after the WTC final, England will host Virat Kohli’s team for a full five match Test Series.
So both the teams will be eying a solid preparation for their upcoming matches against India.
England have been hit by a series of injuries while they have rested their IPL returned stars.
After Jofra Archer was ruled out of the series, England saw their wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes to a freak injury.
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Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, are the only veterans left in the side.
While for New Zealand a good outing will mean that they will go into the WTC final with a slight advantage over India. New Zealand will look to get their batting and bowling combinations right for the WTC final. New Zealand will also see their veteran wicketkeeper batsman BJ Watling retiring at the end of WTC Final.
Match details
Match: England vs New Zealand 1st Test
Venue: Lord’s cricket ground, London
Timings: – 3:30 pm IST (10:00 am GMT)
Head-to-head: The two sides have played 105 Test matches starting way back in 1930. England have won 48, while New Zealand have won 11.
Telecast and live streaming: The matches in India can be seen on Sony TV Network, Sony Six Channels. The online streaming will be available at Sony LIV app and website.
England vs New Zealand Schedule
June 2-June 6: 1st Test, Lord’s cricket ground, London, 3:30 pm IST (10:00 am GMT)
June 10-June 14, 2nd Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham, 3:30pm IST (10:00am GMT)
Likely XIs:
England : Joe Root (C), James Anderson, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Mark Wood
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (C), Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, BJ Watling, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner
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Full Test Squads of England and New Zealand
England:
Joe Root (C), James Anderson, Sam Billings, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Mark Wood
New Zealand:
Kane Williamson (C), Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Jacob Duffy, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, BJ Watling, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner
