CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — On Thursday, during the inaugural day of the first Test at Hagley Oval, England won the toss and opted to bowl first against New Zealand.
The Black Caps enter this series with momentum, having recently achieved a remarkable 3-0 victory over India, marking the first time any team has swept India in a home Test series consisting of three matches or more.
Now, New Zealand faces the challenge of maintaining that impressive form in their own environment, yet captain Tom Latham emphasizes the importance of not getting caught up in past achievements.
“What we accomplished in India was fantastic, but as cliché as it may sound, that’s behind us now. Our focus is solely on the new challenges ahead,” Latham remarked.
In a surprising move against standard practice, New Zealand has made changes to a successful lineup. Ajaz Patel, who took 11 wickets during the third Test in India, was omitted from the squad for the England series.
Furthermore, Will Young, the player of the series in India, has been dropped to make room for the returning Kane Williamson, who missed the India series due to injury.
In a notable shift, New Zealand has also included Wellington fast-bowling allrounder Nathan Smith for his Test debut.
Smith’s inclusion introduces a robust four-man pace battery, enhancing the overall depth of the batting lineup.
On the England side, they are giving a Test debut to 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, a left-handed batsman from Barbados, who is set to bat at the No. 3 position.
Bethell has experience in eight one-day internationals and seven Twenty20 matches, but he has only appeared in 21 first-class games thus far.
His selection comes in light of wicketkeeper Jordan Cox suffering a broken thumb in a training mishap, resulting in Ollie Pope taking on the wicketkeeping duties instead.
“Bringing Bethell in allows him to establish himself higher up the batting order and really influence the game, rather than filtering down,” stated England captain Ben Stokes.
The series will compete for the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, honoring the legacies of former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 53, and England’s Graham Thorpe, who died this year at 55.

New Zealand team: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William O’Rourke.

England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.