England v New Zealand, first Test: All you need to know

The Cricketer provides all the information you need ahead of the first Test between England and New Zealand

What is it?

The first Test of a three-match series between England and New Zealand.

When is it?

The first Test is scheduled to begin on Thursday, June 2, with play beginning at 11am GMT (10pm NZST).

The second (June 10-14, Trent Bridge) and third (June 23-27, Headingley) Tests sit either side of England’s white-ball series against the Netherlands.

Where is it?

The first Test will take place at Lord’s.

^{Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will make their bows as captain and head coach, respectively [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

What are the talking points?

The series forms part of the 2021-2023 World Test Championship cycle, with New Zealand, the defending champions, currently in sixth place and England languishing at the foot of the table in ninth position.

For England, this series marks the start of a new era, with Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes making their competitive bows as managing director, head coach and captain, respectively.

On the pitch, they are in dire straits, with just one win in their past 17 Test matches and their most recent series victory coming against Sri Lanka in January 2021. Batting has been a concern during this period, with England bowled out for under 200 on 14 occasions and Joe Root’s haul of 2,006 Test runs since the start of 2021 putting him 1,295 runs clear of any of his teammates (second-placed Jonny Bairstow has 771 runs).

Since lifting the World Test Championship crown in June 2021, New Zealand have played six Test matches, winning two, drawing one and losing three. They shared the spoils with South Africa in their most recent series, comfortably winning the first Test by an inning and 276 runs before losing the second by 198 runs.

When the two sides met in June last year, New Zealand won the two-Test series 1-0 after completing an eight-wicket win at Edgbaston.

However, their clash at Lord’s ended in a draw and the Black Caps have won just one Test in 18 attempts in St John's Wood – a nine-wicket win in July 1999.

^{New Zealand are the reigning World Test champions but Lord's has not been a happy hunting ground for them [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

What are the squads?

Stuart Broad and James Anderson are the notable returnees for England while Harry Brook and Matthew Potts have been called up for the first time after impressing in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Brook is unlikely to make his debut at Lord’s, with Key in favour of playing Surrey’s Ollie Pope at No.3 and Jonny Bairstow at No.5. Given the wealth of injuries to England’s seam bowlers, however, Potts could be in line for a Test bow.

New Zealand have travelled to England with a 20-strong squad, which will be reduced to 15 players ahead of the first Test.

Kane Williamson will captain the Black Caps despite having not played a Test match since last December due to an elbow injury. Michael Bracewell received his maiden Test call-up for the series while uncapped duo Cam Fletcher and Blair Tickner have travelled overseas with New Zealand for the first time.

England squad: Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, Joe Root

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Cam Fletcher, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Will Young

^{Matthew Potts is one of two uncapped players in England's 13-man squad [Dan Mullan/Getty Images]}

What’s the weather looking like?

Pleasant conditions are expected across all five days in London, with temperatures peaking around 21 degrees Celsius and sunny intervals pushing through the clouds.  

Where can I follow it?

Sky Sports have the rights to England’s home Test matches, with coverage available on Sky Sports Main Event (Sky 401, Virgin 501) and Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Virgin 504).

Televised highlights will be shown on BBC2 from 7pm daily, with digital highlights available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Test Match Special will be providing ball-by-ball radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, which is accessible through the BBC Sport website and app or BBC Sounds.

In New Zealand, SparkSport will provide coverage of the series.