ENG vs NZ 1st Test Playing 11: Ben Stokes-led England will square off against Tom Latham-led New Zealand in the 1st Test of the tour, starting on June 04 at Lord’s, London.
The cricketing rivals are set to face of each other in three match test series in the WTC 2025-27 cycle. They have a rich cricketing history where they met on 115 tests, with the Three Lions winning 54 tests, while the Kiwis have only 14 wins. Meanwhile, 47 games ended with a draw.
In the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, New Zealand have secured two wins out of three games while Engalnd have only three wins out of 10 games.
Currently, the Kiwis secured second spot while England are reeling down in the seventh position of the WTC 2025-27 Points table.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl. Speaking on the toss, NZ captain Tom Latham said, “Going to have a bowl. Little bit of weather around, hopefully we can make use with the ball upfront. Looks a reasonably good surface. Saw it three days out and looked reasonably hard.”
Tom Latham wins the toss and the BLACKCAPS will bowl first at Lord’s.
Watch play LIVE in NZ on @skysportnz or audio commentary via the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube Channel 📺 LIVE scoring at https://t.co/3YsfR1Y3Sm 📲 pic.twitter.com/UR9Jll3h1A
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 4, 2026
Speaking about the today New Zealand Playing 11, Tom Lathan said, “Few changes from our last Test. Phillips back in, Jamieson, Will O’Rourke and Henry – nice to have them all back. Have had a really good couple of weeks preparation coming into this Test. Ready to get into it. If you look at this whole Test match, lot of special moments will be celebrated.”
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes said, “Would’ve looked to bowl as well. Always amazing thing to be a part of to see someone get their first cap for England. Special moment for him and his family.
Speaking on the today England Playing 11, Stokes said, “Obviously we named the XII. Not sure what the weather was going to do. Sonny misses out from the XII. We’re going out there and we’re going to look to play cricket we have been known for.”
ENG vs NZ 1st Test Playing 11
England playing 11: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Ben Stokes(c), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
New Zealand Playing 11: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, William ORourke
