New Zealand v Pakistan - First Test

Seddon Park, Hamilton

NZL: GM Turner, MH Richardson, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, *JR Reid, JV Coney, RJ Hadlee, +KJ Wadsworth, RC Motz, J Cowie, SL Boock.
PAK: Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar, Saeed Ahmed, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, *Imran Khan, +Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Intikhab Alam, Fazal Mahmood, Waqar Younis.

Debuts: J Cowie (NZL) & Moin Khan (PAK)
Umpires: FR Goodall & BL Aldridge
Toss: Pakistan

At 11:24 on the fourth morning, Waqar Younis wrote his name into the history books when he trapped Stephen Boock lbw to complete the first ever ten wicket innings haul in ATG cricket history. New Zealand had been skittled for 87 - for the second time in the match - and one of the more remarkable Tests in recent memory had come to an end with Pakistan victorious by the tidy margin of 324 runs.

It had all begun in quite different circumstances however, for when New Zealand bowled out the tourists for just 237 on the first day it was the Kiwis, not Pakistan, who seemed to be on top. Richard Hadlee emerged from his recent trough in form to claim 5-60, Jack Cowie bowled well to pick up three wickets on debut, and as Pakistan tried to hit their way out of trouble the ball seemed to spend most of the day flying either off the middle of the bat or the outside edge. Imran was the only member of Pakistan's top eight not to reach double figures, but Zaheer (51) was the only player to reach 50 as the Blackcaps bowled a beautiful collective line. Countless appeals were turned down by the umpires over the course of the day, but New Zealand appeared to have bowled themselves into what looked to be a strong position nonetheless.

However, Waqar knocked over both Richardson and nightwatchman Motz before stumps to leave New Zealand 8-2, and although 29 from Congdon helped move the total on to 44-2 on the second morning, that was to be the high point of New Zealand's day as Waqar and Fazal Mahmood blew away the remainder of the innings to leave the Kiwis 87 all out, their lowest total in ATG Tests and the fifth lowest overall. Waqar finished with 5-41, all his victims either clean bowled or lbw, but this was only a warm-up for what was to come.

New Zealand now faced a deficit of 150, but undaunted they continued to bowl well, and under a heavy shroud of cloud cover on the third day Richard Hadlee completed both his best innings and match returns as Pakistan were again restricted to a score of under 300. Saeed Anwar passed 1000 career runs during his 19, but there were few other highlights for Pakistan until Akram and Intikhab combined to produce a rapid 80 run partnership for the eighth wicket, during which time Akram posted just the second 50 of the match. Cowie suffered particularly harshly during this stand, but Hadlee continued in metronomic fashion to finish with innings figures of 6-93 and a match analysis of 11-153, leaving New Zealand with an unlikely 412 to win, although with almost half the match still remaining they would have plenty of time to get them.

By the end of the third day the Blackcaps' innings was in tatters for the second time in the match though, with the scoreboard reading an astonishing 48-7 at one stage as Waqar simply demolished the opposition with a spell that was the very definition of unplayable. He found alarmingly late swing almost from the off, and the innings became a procession as the ball either zeroed in on the stumps or found its way into Moin Khan's gloves with monotonous regularity. Moin enjoyed an excellent debut as the injured Wasim Bari's replacement - seven catches plus two attacking cameos with the bat - but it was now all about Waqar and the Kiwis simply had no answer.

The third day ended with New Zealand 83-8 (Waqar 8-42), and those few spectators that showed up on the fourth morning were rewarded with ATG cricket's first ever ten wicket haul. Hearts were in throats as Akram bellowed a confident appeal for caught behind against Cowie in the day's third over, but a shake of umpire Aldridge's head left the door open for Waqar, and in his next over he made no mistake. Motz failed to cope with a toe crushing yorker, and two balls later Boock was given out lbw by Fred Goodall, a decision that was followed by scenes of jubilation from Waqar and his teammates; the fact that Boock appeared to edge the ball into his pads just seemed to go by the wayside.

Waqar of course bowled brilliantly, but New Zealand's batting display had been abject in the extreme, especially in the second innings, and although there were murmurings from inside the hosts' camp that the way in which the Pakistanis had been treating the ball throughout the match was not entirely conventional, the decisiveness of Pakistan's 324 run victory could not be denied. Waqar's final figures were 21-8-44-10, and his match return of 15-85 was also an ATG record, and despite there having been little more than three days' play in this Test match, there had been more action and drama than one might hope for over the course of an entire series. The second Test in Christchurch will be a true test of character for the Kiwis, and Pakistan's record breaking 14 match unbeaten run does not look like coming to an end any time soon.

Scores
PAK 1st Inns 237 (Zaheer 51, Javed 46; Hadlee 5-60)
NZL 1st Inns 87 (Waqar 5-41)
PAK 2nd Inns 261 (Akram 50, Javed 49, Hanif 47; Hadlee 6-93)
NZL 2nd Inns 87 (Waqar 10-44)

PAKISTAN WON BY 324 RUNS

Man of the Match: Waqar Younis

New Zealand v Pakistan - Tour Match

New Zealand Cricket XI v Pakistan XI
Eden Park, Auckland
3 Day Game
Umpires: DEA Copps & WT Martin

NZC XI: CS Dempster, *GO Rabone, AH Jones, WM Wallace, MJ Greatbatch, V Pollard, +WK Lees, DJ Nash, AR MacGibbon, DR Hadlee, J Cowie.
PAK XI: Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar, Saeed Ahmed, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, +Wasim Bari, Fazal Mahmood, Iqbal Qasim, Waqar Younis.

Pakistan began their tour of New Zealand against a New Zealand Cricket XI that contained a number of possible selections for the full Test team, and opener Stewie Dempster stated his case in no uncertain terms with a sparkling first day century against the tourists' first choice Test bowling attack. Dempster also scored a hundred against the English tourists, and his 105 here dominated the NZC XI's first innings of 260, made as it was in the face of some fiery pace bowling from the Pakistanis. Pollard's attacking 49 bolstered the innings after Dempster's departure, but with Wasim and Waqar sharing six wickets the tourists would have been reasonably happy with their work in the field, although Imran looked a little rusty.

Imran was in great nick with the bat though, and after Saeed Anwar's 86 had given Pakistan's innings a bright start he single-handedly took apart the home attack with a tremendous display of clean hitting. Imran contributed 82 runs to a fifth wicket stand of 110 with a woefully out of touch Zaheer (34), and his innings reached his zenith as he struck the final two deliveries of the second day from Pollard for four and six to raise his century off just 107 balls. Imran declared upon his dismissal for 127 on the third morning, and it was fitting that Jack Cowie should claim his wicket as he was by far New Zealand's best bowler; other than Imran he also claimed the scalps of Saeed Ahmed, Javed and Zaheer, and he must now have an excellent chance of making the squad for the first Test.

Pakistan's 336-7 gave them a 76 run lead on the final morning, and by lunch the hosts were struggling on 43-3 as Wasim and Waqar put in another excellent opening burst with the new ball. The atmosphere was clouded as Waqar was involved in altercations with both Andrew Jones and Mark Greatbatch, but Pakistan were now dominating and by mid-afternoon the NZC XI had been reduced to 84-6, and victory was on the horizon. However, Warren Lees and Dion Nash mounted a spirited counter attack, and their seventh wicket stand of 72 took the Kiwis to safety as the tourists became increasingly frustrated with both the opposition and the umpires.

Pakistan eventually dismissed their hosts for 173 to leave themselves just ten overs to reach a target of 98, and despite an entertaining cameo from Javed (33 off 23 balls) they never really threatened to get there. Imran's tourists remain favourites to take the Test series after their showing here, but New Zealand might take solace in the fact that there already appears to be more than a little tension in the Pakistani camp, and Pakistan may well be their worst enemies as the series unfolds.

Scores
NZC XI 1st Inns 260 (Dempster 105, Pollard 49)
PAK XI 1st Inns 336-7 dec. (Imran Khan 127, Saeed Anwar 86; Cowie 4-88)
NZC XI 2nd Inns 173 (Lees 44, Greatbatch 43)
PAK XI 2nd Inns 49-4

MATCH DRAWN

New Zealand v Pakistan - Series Preview

New Zealand have little time to recover after their defeat at the hands of England, with Pakistan making a reciprocal visit to the Antipodes after the Blackcaps tour of Pakistan earlier in the season. New Zealand lost that series 2-0, but they were in strong positions in each of the three Tests and will be keen to give the local punters something to cheer over the course of the next three Test matches. John Reid retains the captaincy, although the selectors were split over this choice, and he will be under even more pressure than usual as New Zealand strive for an elusive victory.

As for Pakistan, they have now gone 12 Tests without defeat and sit fourth in the rankings, with Imran Khan leading the team to great success in his second spell as captain. They will be without in-form all-rounder Asif Iqbal for this trip, but otherwise the squad contains no surprises - Abdul Qadir is left out but his form of late does not make this a surprise - and the Pakistanis must be installed as favourites ahead of this series.

Pakistan's Squad
Imran Khan (c), Javed Miandad (v/c), Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Intikhab Alam, Iqbal Qasim, Khan Mohammad, Majid Khan, Moin Khan, Saeed Ahmed, Saeed Anwar, Sarfraz Nawaz, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Wasim Bari, Zaheer Abbas.

New Zealand v England - Series Summary

Despite the ravages of an extraordinarily lengthy injury list, England triumphed at a canter in this series and now sit proudly at the top of the ATG rankings, ahead of Australia and South Africa. 16 players were used by the tourists over the three Tests, including four new caps, but the fact that the batting line-up remained largely unaffected by ailment was reflected in the scorecards: England only had to bat once in each match, and never once scored under 400. Hammond was the stand out, scoring 483 runs at the astounding average of 161, and since his poor showing at home against West Indies, his run of scores reads 170, 0, 46, 39, 120, 40, 40, 258 and 185; that's 898 runs at an average of 99.78 in his last six Tests! Les Ames was also an instant success, and with both Jim Laker and Bob Willis showing good form, the team looks in good shape ahead of the upcoming Ashes series.

New Zealand on the other hand remain rooted at the foot of the rankings table, and there was little to write home about from this series. A shocking display in the first Test was at least followed up by performances with a little more backbone in Dunedin and Wellington, but with a bowling attack that remains nonthreatening, especially with Hadlee so woefully out of both form and luck, they are unlikely to change direction any time soon. Reid's maiden century in Wellington is likely to keep him in the team for the Pakistan series, and there seem to be few options or permutations left open to the New Zealand selectors as they try to break the cycle of defeat.

New Zealand - Batting
MD Crowe 270 runs @ 54.00, BE Congdon 244 @ 40.67, MH Richardson 231 @ 38.50, GM Turner 214 @ 35.67, JR Reid 138 @ 23.00

New Zealand - Bowling
SL Boock 11 wkts @ 33.18, JR Reid 5 @ 47.40, RJ Hadlee 5 @ 65.00

England - Batting
WR Hammond 483 runs @ 161.00, MC Cowdrey 165 @ 82.50, L Hutton 224 @ 74.67, LEG Ames 221 @ 73.67, JB Hobbs 211 @ 70.33

England - Bowling
FS Trueman 4 wkts @ 21.25, JC Laker 17 @ 21.29, RGD Willis 10 @ 22.50, H Larwood 9 @ 26.44, JA Snow 6 @ 34.67

ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 2-0

Players of the Series: MD Crowe & WR Hammond

New Zealand v England - Third Test

Basin Reserve, Wellington

NZL: GM Turner, MH Richardson, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, *JR Reid, JV Coney, RJ Hadlee, +KJ Wadsworth, RC Motz, RO Collinge, SL Boock.
ENG: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, PBH May, MC Cowdrey, AW Greig, +LEG Ames, MW Tate, JC Laker, H Larwood, RGD Willis.

Debuts: MW Tate (ENG)
Umpires: BL Aldridge & SJ Woodward
Toss: England

England knew that if they could avoid defeat at the Basin Reserve they would not only secure the series, but they would also claim sole possession of the number one position in the world rankings ahead of the upcoming Ashes series, and after their performances in the first two Tests they were firm favourites to complete their quest successfully. With John Snow now added to the tourists' ridiculously long injury list, Maurice Tate would make his debut just a matter of days after joining the squad, but he was able to spend the first half of the game with his feet up as England amassed a huge first innings total after Hutton had won the toss and elected to bat.

The overhead conditions on day one should have offered New Zealand's seamers some assistance, but with Hadlee woefully out of form the Kiwi attack lacked leadership and England's batsmen took full advantage. Hobbs was run out for 23 after a rare mix up with Hutton, but England's skipper made amends with an even hundred, and it got no better for the Blackcaps as England batted their way to their second highest ever total over the course of the first two a bit days. The untouchable Hammond stroked 185 to go with his 258 in Dunedin, and he added 196 with Peter May, who made 98 in his first knock of the series. The coup de grace was then administered by Cowdrey (107*) and Ames (95), whose sixth wicket partnership of 171 came at nearly a run a ball, and when Hutton finally called a halt to the carnage, England had made their way to an imposing 635-6.

New Zealand now had to bat for the best part of three days if they were to save the game, and they had been reduced to 80-3 before Crowe and Reid hooked up to produce a stirring fourth wicket stand. Crowe batted resolutely but Reid responded to the pressure by playing all his strokes, and the crowd were richly entertained as New Zealand fought back in admirable style. It took the new ball to make the breakthrough on the fourth morning, with Willis eventually bowling Crowe for 76 to end the partnership on 186, New Zealand's third highest for any wicket. Reid had reached a wonderful maiden hundred off 148 balls, but Crowe's wicket precipitated a collapse that saw the Kiwis stumble from 266-3 to 367 all out, and although Motz entertained with a career high 58* from number nine, New Zealand had failed to save the follow-on, finishing 268 adrift of England's first innings.

So New Zealand had to bat again, and they lost Turner for 35, neatly stumped by Ames off Laker just before the close on day four, which ended with the Blackcaps on 61-1. England consequently needed to take nine wickets on the final day to close out the series, and although a rain delayed start gave New Zealand hope, breakthroughs came on a regular basis with only Crowe (53) able to pass fifty. An incredible spell of 3-8 from Hammond either side of tea finally broke Kiwi resolve, and Willis returned with the new ball to finish a good match for him (match figures of 7-112) and complete an innings victory for England with 17 overs to spare.

England were good value for their victory, both in this Test and the series, rising above horrendous injury problems to put in three thoroughly professional performances, and they now sit proudly at the top of the ATG tree. New Zealand had always been on the back foot in this match, and it was only during Crowe and Reid's first innings partnership that they were able to compete on anything approaching an even footing. Pakistan are now in town for the second half of New Zealand's summer season, and once again the Kiwis will enter a series as underdogs, a position that they must now be used to.

Scores
ENG 1st Inns 635-6 dec. (Hammond 185, Cowdrey 107*, Hutton 100, May 98, Ames 95)
NZL 1st Inns 367 (Reid 108, Crowe 76, Motz 58*, Richardson 48, Willis 4-54)
NZL 2nd Inns 190 (Crowe 53)

ENGLAND WON BY AN INNINGS & 78 RUNS

Man of the Match: WR Hammond

New Zealand v England - Second Test

Carisbrook, Dunedin

NZL: GM Turner, MH Richardson, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, *JR Reid, JV Coney, RJ Hadlee, +KJ Wadsworth, BR Taylor, RO Collinge, SL Boock.
ENG: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, MC Cowdrey, LEG Ames, AW Greig, +TG Evans, JC Laker, H Larwood, JA Snow, RGD Willis.

Debuts: TG Evans (ENG)
Umpires: RS Dunne & DB Cowie
Toss: England

The English touring party was struck by an injury crisis so bad in the lead up to the second Test that they took the field in Dunedin with their only fit XI; May, Rhodes, Barrington, Trueman and Statham were all unavailable, so Godfrey Evans made his debut by default and Les Ames played as a specialist batsman.

To make matters worse, Len Hutton put New Zealand in upon winning the toss, obviously having seen something in a flat Carisbrook wicket that had gone unnoticed by everyone else in the ground, and over the course of the next two days the Blackcaps took full advantage of the English skipper's benevolence. By the end of day one New Zealand had coasted to 290-2, an advantage that they stretched to 370-3 at lunch on the second day. Turner's fourth ATG century got the innings off to a sound start, then Bevan Congdon took over, adding 166 with Turner for the second wicket - a Kiwi record - on the way to a career best 146.

A further 133 runs were posted with Crowe (50), but then the innings lost its way as England's reshaped attack finally found a purpose, with Greig and Snow sharing the last five wickets to end New Zealand's run gathering six short of 500. Hutton would now have the chance to bat on a wicket that clearly held none of the devils that he thought it might, and after the relatively early loss of Hobbs for 27, he and Walter Hammond set about booking in for the day. Progress was serene, and by stumps on day three only one further wicket had gone down, that of Hutton who played on against Boock for 94. England were 282-2 at this stage with Hammond, who had survived two close lbw shouts early in his innings, having reached his century despite not being at his fluent best.

The ante was upped on day four however, and England reached 400 with only three wickets down, Hammond purring past 200 on his way to a career high 258. He was finally bowled by Hadlee with the new ball as England lost five wickets for sixty runs either side of tea, but a ninth wicket stand of 66 between Larwood (44) and Snow (29) propelled the total to 559, England's fourth highest total ever, and New Zealand faced a deficit of 65 early on day five.

A draw now seemed a cast iron certainty, and the Kiwis batted without much cause for alarm, reaching 57-0 at lunch and 110-2 at tea, but Messrs Willis, Snow and Larwood gave New Zealand the fright of their lives in an evening session as hostile as anything since bodyline. Crowe was forced to retire on 22 when he was struck a shuddering blow to the chest by Larwood, and in a flash the Blackcaps had been reduced to 133-6. Taylor fought back though, and his unbeaten 27 ensured that New Zealand got the draw that keeps the series alive going into the final Test. Had Hutton elected to bat on the first day then maybe things would have been different, but given England's problems going into this game, a draw was probably a satisfactory outcome for both camps.

Scores
NZL 1st Inns 494 (Congdon 146, Turner 123, Crowe 50, Coney 40; Greig 4-91)
ENG 1st Inns 559 (Hammond 258, Hutton 94, Cowdrey 52, Larwood 44)
NZL 2nd Inns 170-7 (Turner 42)

MATCH DRAWN


Man of the Match: WR Hammond

New Zealand v England - First Test

Eden Park, Auckland

NZL: GM Turner, MH Richardson, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, *JR Reid, JV Coney, RJ Hadlee, +KJ Wadsworth, BR Taylor, SL Boock, EJ Chatfield.
ENG: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, KF Barrington, MC Cowdrey, AW Greig, +LEG Ames, JC Laker, FS Trueman, JA Snow, JB Statham.

Debuts: LEG Ames & JA Snow (ENG)
Umpires: RS Dunne & DB Cowie
Toss: New Zealand

England entered this match as strong favourites, and despite taking the field without three of their four most capped ATG players (Knott, Compton and Bedser), they quickly took command as New Zealand's batting faltered on the first day. Only Mark Richardson (51) mounted any real resistance as England bowled and fielded exceptionally well on a slow and low Eden Park wicket, and by the end of day one the hosts had been knocked over for 190, with Jim Laker claiming 6-50, his best ATG figures.

England began their reply confidently and took their total to 158-1 before New Zealand struck back in the final session of the second day, which finished with the tourists on 228-5 and a lead of 38. Crucially though, Hobbs had been able to bat out the day on his way to the fourteenth century of his ATG career, and in the company of debutant Les Ames he helped take the game away from the Black Caps on an excellent third day for the tourists.

Ames had been brought into the team as a result of Alan Knott's lack of runs, and the selectors' faith was repaid on day three as he powered his way to 94 off just 134 balls before falling lbw to Boock despite a big inside edge onto the pad. Ames had become one of nine lbw victims despatched by umpire Cowie over the course of the match (correspondingly, Steve Dunne gave only one lbw decision), but despite falling agonizingly close to a debut century, his partnership of 126 with Hobbs had been crucial.

Hobbs himself had fallen earlier for a rock-like 161, also to Boock, and with Laker adding a jaunty 40 England progressed to 415 and a lead of 225 before their innings closed shortly before tea on the third day. Boock finished with the admirable figures of 7-121, the second best return in New Zealand's history behind his own 8-67, also against England, but truth be told he had bowled nowhere near as well as Laker, and it was to be England's off spinner who was to prove New Zealand's undoing again as they batted for a second time.

Richardson and Crowe took New Zealand to 68-2 at stumps on day three after Trueman had dismissed both Turner and Congdon cheaply, but after Crowe gave his wicket away for 54, caught on the long off boundary by Statham off Laker, the Black Caps' resistance crumbled amidst an insipidly inept batting display. The innings slipped from 117-3 to 156-9 as Laker ran through the middle order and tail, and although the second valiant last wicket stand of the match from Taylor and Chatfield held up the inevitable for some little time, Laker eventually picked up his second six wicket haul of the game when he removed Chatfield, and England had won by an innings with over a day to spare.

New Zealand's performance had verged on the downright embarrassing - England could afford to drop three catches in their second innings - and one would hope for a return of the traditional Kiwi spirit in time for the second Test. Laker's match return of 12-89 is the best by any English bowler in ATG Tests, but Hobbs' century gained him the man of the match award, made as it was on a pitch whose bounce became more erratic as the match went on, and one would imagine that it is unlikely to be his last of what has the makings of a very one-sided series.

Scores
NZL 1st Inns 190 (Richardson 51; Laker 6-50)
ENG 1st Inns 415 (Hobbs 161, Ames 94, Hammond 40, Laker 40; Boock 7-121)
NZL 2nd Inns 188 (Crowe 54, Richardson 46; Laker 6-39)

ENGLAND WON BY AN INNINGS & 37 RUNS

Man of the Match: JB Hobbs

New Zealand v England - Tour Match

New Zealand Cricket XI v England XI
McLean Park, Napier
4 Day Game
Umpires: FR Goodall & SJ Woodward

NZC XI: CS Dempster, *GT Dowling, AH Jones, BF Hastings, MJ Greatbatch, V Pollard, +WK Lees, DJ Nash, AR MacGibbon, DR Hadlee, FJ Cameron.
ENG XI: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, KF Barrington, MC Cowdrey, AW Greig, +TG Evans, H Larwood, JC Laker, JA Snow, RGD Willis.

A batsman friendly McLean Park pitch meant that the bowlers were going to have to work hard for any sort of return, but England's top six all spent valuable time at the crease as the tourists drew this four day warm-up for the Tests.

England's bowling was efficient, nothing more, as the NZC XI were bowled out for 297 after Graham Dowling had won the toss and batted, with John Snow the pick of the tourists' attack. Dempster and Dowling were allowed to compile a century opening stand with little trouble, and this foundation was built upon by Brian Hastings, who ground his way to 95 before edging the disappointing Willis through to Evans. The tail fell away though, and over the course of the second and third days England's batsmen made hay in the sun against a very ordinary bowling attack.

Hutton, Hammond and Barrington all made centuries as England raced to a total of over 500, and Cowdrey could have joined them in three figures had he not thrown away his wicket in such of quick declaration runs. Hammond was the most fluent of England's centurions, but Barrington, fit again after a knee injury kept him out of the tour to Pakistan, grew in confidence as his innings progressed and reached his hundred with a towering six off the luckless MacGibbon.

Hutton declared upon the fall of Cowdrey's wicket, leaving his bowlers a lead of 255 and over a day's play in which to bowl out the hosts for a second time, but as is so often the case the New Zealanders batted with great resistance. They were 57-3 at lunch on the final day, but fifties from Greatbatch and Pollard supported a fine hundred from Stewie Dempster, who must now be in with a chance of forcing his way into the Kiwi Test squad, and the tourists' pursuit of victory ended in frustration. England's bowlers will have to pull their socks up before the first Test, but they still remain favourites to take both the series and the number one ranking in the world.

Scores
NZC XI 1st Inns 297 (Hastings 95, Dempster 54, Dowling 48)
ENG XI 1st Inns 552-5 dec. (Barrington 140, Hutton 131, Hammond 128, Cowdrey 95)
NZC XI 2nd Inns 286-6 (Dempster 111, Greatbatch 59, Pollard 52)

MATCH DRAWN

New Zealand v England - Series Preview

A series that pits top against bottom might not promise much on paper, but there will be a great deal at stake as England undertake their first ATG tour of New Zealand. In what is England's last outing before next season's Ashes series, victory will give them sole possession of the number one ranking that they currently share with Australia, and Len Hutton's team boast a proud record of eight successive series without defeat since surrendering the Ashes in the first ever ATG series.

New Zealand meanwhile sit adrift and alone on the bottom rung of the Test ladder, with only three wins in thirty Tests, although one of those was against England when Stephen Boock famously claimed 8-67 as the Kiwis snatched victory off the last ball of an incredible Lord's Test. Boock has struggled for form and fitness since then but is expected to play a full part in this series, and England's squad sees a number of changes since their 0-0 draw in Pakistan. Ken Barrington and Jim Laker return from injury, there are recalls for Peter May, Bob Willis and Harold Larwood, whilst Les Ames and Wilfred Rhodes are included for the first time. The most high profile casualties of this shake-up are Alan Knott and Alec Bedser, who both lose their squad places for the first time.

England's Squad
L Hutton (c), WR Hammond (v/c), LEG Ames, KF Barrington, MC Cowdrey, TG Evans, AW Greig, JB Hobbs, JC Laker, H Larwood, PBH May, W Rhodes, JA Snow, JB Statham, FS Trueman, RGD Willis.

South Africa v India - Series Summary

South Africa were firm favourites before this series began, so consequently India will take far more away from the 1-1 scoreline than the Springboks. Ball dominated bat for the first two Tests as the sides traded victories in Port Elizabeth and Durban, and India’s batting held together in the final Test in the face of a mammoth South African first innings.

A drawn series denied South Africa the chance to claim outright the number one spot in the ATG rankings, although success in their upcoming trip to the Caribbean could yet mean that they take over at the top. Goddard’s form with the ball should keep him in the side for that series, but he will have to fire with the bat in order to remain at the helm. Sunil Gavaskar meanwhile is at the top of his game, and India should be looking to maintain their form under his leadership for some time to come.

South Africa - Batting
RG Pollock 303 runs @ 75.75, JN Rhodes 139 @ 46.33, BA Richards 189 @ 37.80, AD Nourse 142 @ 35.50, EAB Rowan 117 @ 29.25

South Africa - Bowling
TL Goddard 18 wkts @ 14.00, MJ Procter 15 @ 23.33, NBF Mann 11 @ 24.18, PM Pollock 5 @ 38.60, AA Donald 4 @ 56.00

India - Batting
SM Gavaskar 323 runs @ 53.83, Kapil Dev 222 @ 44.40, PR Umrigar 209 @ 34.83, NS Sidhu 208 @ 34.67, M Prabhakar 105 @ 26.25

India - Bowling
BS Bedi 14 wkts @ 21.79, BS Chandrasekhar 10 @ 24.60, Kapil Dev 7 @ 32.86, M Prabhakar 5 @ 33.20

SERIES DRAWN 1-1

Players of the Series: RG Pollock & SM Gavaskar