New Zealand tour of England 2015, Stats preview: Can Black Caps overcome history?

New Zealand are in terrific form at the moment, having won 8 out of their last 12 Tests.

New Zealand begin their tour of England with the first Test on May 21, 2015. While the Black Caps have been on an upward swing over the last couple of years, their record in England is one they would want to forget. Shiamak Unwalla gives a statistical preview of the tour.

New Zealand are on a roll. They have come a long way from the side that won only one Test out of 19 between March 2012 and December 2013. They have won eight of their last 12 Tests, losing and drawing two each. READ: England vs New Zealand, 1st Test at Lord’s Preview

England, on the other hand, have been decent in Tests over the last couple of years. Their 0-5 whitewash in The 2013-14 Ashes Down Under gave them a poor reputation, but people often forget that they had beaten Australia at home a few months prior to that drubbing. Since India’s tour of England in 2014, England have won four, drawn two, and lost two Tests.

Coming to New Zealand’s record in England, the tourists have a lot to prove. Since their maiden tour in 1931, they have been thrashed on most occasions. England have been head and shoulders above New Zealand in Tests in England. Below is a table showing New Zealand’s Test record in England:

Team	Period	M	W	L	T	D	HS score	LS score
England	1931-2013	52	29	4	0	19	567	126
New Zealand	1931-2013	52	4	29	0	19	551	47

The Kiwis have won a pitiable four Tests in England. That being said, the current New Zealand side is a powerful one, and they stand a good chance of overthrowing England. One major reason for this is that none of England’s top 10 leading run-scorers against New Zealand in England are active. READ: New Zealand’s best chance to beat England

BATTING

Below is the list of 10 leading run-scorers for England against New Zealand at home:

Name	Period	M	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Graham Gooch	1978-1994	12	987	210	58.05	3	3
David Gower	1978-1986	10	982	131	57.76	4	4
Michael Atherton	1990-1999	8	763	151	58.69	3	4
Geoff Boycott	1965-1978	10	737	131	46.06	2	4
John Edrich	1965-1969	4	686	310*	137.20	3	1
Len Hutton	1937-1949	7	596	206	54.18	3	2
Alec Stewart	1990-1999	10	558	119	34.87	1	3
Andrew Strauss	2004-2008	6	539	112	53.90	2	4
Allan Lamb	1983-1990	8	521	137*	47.36	2	2
Colin Cowdrey	1958-1965	7	462	119	66.00	1	4

The most recent name of the above batsmen is ECB’s new Director of Cricket, Andrew Strauss, who last played against New Zealand in England as long ago as 2008. READ: Adam Lyth’s selection comes as a positive sign amidst England’s cricketing saga

Expanding upon this stat, let us now look at the leading batsmen against New Zealand in all Test cricket. Below is a table of the 10 leading run-scorers for England against New Zealand, both home and away:

Name	Period	M	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Graham Gooch	1978-1994	15	1148	210	52.18	4	3
Alec Stewart	1990-1999	16	1145	173	45.80	4	5
Colin Cowdrey	1955-1971	18	1133	128*	59.63	2	8
Michael Atherton	1990-1999	11	1088	151	680	4	6
David Gower	1978-1986	13	1051	131	50.04	4	4
Wally Hammond	1931-1947	9	1015	336*	112.80	4	1
Allan Lamb	1983-1992	14	941	142	47.05	3	4
Geoff Boycott	1965-1978	15	916	131	38.16	2	6
Graham Thorpe	1997-2004	13	905	200*	53.23	4	1
Ian Botham	1978-1992	15	846	138	40.28	3	4

This makes the situation bleaker for England. The latest entry is that of Graham Thorpe, who last played against the Kiwis in 2004.

NOTE: Wally Hammond (336*) has the highest individual score for an English batsman against New Zealand. However, John Edrich’s 310* is the highest score by an Englishman against New Zealand on English soil. Edrich hit 52 boundaries in the innings — still the most by any batsman. They are the only English batsmen with triple-hundreds against New Zealand. READ: Kevin Pietersen’s exclusion from England squad will not make a difference

As for New Zealand, their record is far from admirable. Below is a table of New Zealand’s 10 leading run-scorers against England in England:

Name	Period	M	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Martin Crowe	1983-1994	13	845	142	40.23	3	2
Bev Congdon	1965-1978	12	726	176	33.00	2	1
John Wright	1978-1990	11	714	119	35.70	1	5
Stephen Fleming	1994-2004	10	644	117	37.88	1	3
Vic Pollard	1965-1973	9	621	116	47.76	2	5
Bert Sutcliffe	1949-1965	9	602	101	40.13	1	5
Martin Donnelly	1937-1949	7	582	206	52.90	1	4
Bruce Edgar	1978-1986	10	575	84	31.94	0	6
Richard Hadlee	1973-1990	14	537	92*	26.85	0	5
Geoff Howarth	1978-1983	7	485	123	40.41	1	2

Of the 10 leading run-scorers, only Martin Donnelly averages over 50. Martin Crowe is predictably the leading run-scorer, but he averaged a lowly (by his standards) 40.23. Bert Sutcliffe, Vic Pollard, and Geoff Howarth are the only others in the top 10 with an average over 40. Unfortunately, barring Stephen Fleming, the list consists of no Kiwi batsman from this millennium. READ: Dear Andrew Strauss, will the non-performing Alastair Cook be also axed?

Below is the list of 10 leading run-scorers for New Zealand against England, both at home and away:

Name	Period	M	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
John Wright	1978-1992	23	1518	130	37.02	4	7
Martin Crowe	1983-1994	22	1421	143	40.60	5	3
Stephen Fleming	1994-2008	19	1229	129	35.11	2	7
Bev Congdon	1965-1978	22	1143	176	28.57	3	3
Bert Sutcliffe	1947-1965	16	1049	116	40.34	2	8
John R Reid	1949-1965	19	953	100	28.02	1	8
Geoff Howarth	1975-1984	15	910	123	37.91	3	3
Brendon McCullum	2004-2013	14	903	97	36.12	0	9
Nathan Astle	1997-2004	13	817	222	37.13	3	2
Richard Hadlee	1973-1990	21	798	99	26.60	0	6

The picture becomes slightly more hopeful for NZ here, with Brendon McCullum and Nathan Astle joining Fleming in the run-scorers’ chart.

NOTE: Unlike their England counterparts, no New Zealand batsman has scored a triple century against England, the highest being Nathan Astle’s 222. Donnelly’s 206 is the highest score by a Kiwi on English soil. They are the only Kiwi double-centurions against England. READ: Alastair Cook denies that he issued ultimatum for Kevin Pietersen’s exile

BOWLING

On the bowling front, things are far more telling. It is the bowling where the major difference between the two sides lies. Below is the list of 10 leading wicket-takers for England against New Zealand at home:

Name	Period	M	W	BBI	BBM	Ave	SR	5WIs	10WMs
Ian Botham	1978-1986	8	37	6/34	11/140	21	45.5	3	1
Tony Lock	1958-1958	5	34	7/35	11/65	7.5	31.0	3	1
Bob Willis	1978-1983	7	32	5/32	9/92	16	41.7	2	0
James Anderson	2008-2013	5	28	7/43	9/98	18	33.8	2	0
Phil DeFreitas	1990-1994	5	27	5/53	9/165	23	45.1	2	0
Derek Underwood	1969-1973	4	24	7/32	12/101	11	42.0	3	2
Trevor Bailey	1949-1958	8	23	6/84	7/155	30	58.4	2	0
Phil Edmonds	1978-1986	8	22	4/20	6/65	26	81.8	0	0
Steve Harmison	2004-2004	3	21	4/74	8/202	22	48.3	0	0
Jim Laker	1949-1958	5	21	5/17	8/44	12	46.5	1	0

Of the lot, only James Anderson and Steve Harmison played New Zealand this century, but Anderson is still active, and will spearhead England’s attack against New Zealand. READ: Jason Gillespie would do a great job as England coach, says Gary Ballance

However, if we shift focus to overall figures, it gets a bit better for England. Below is a table of the 10 leading wicket-takers for England against New Zealand, both home and away:

Name	Period	M	W	BBI	BBM	Ave	SR	5WI	10WM
Ian Botham	1978-1992	15	64	6/34	11/140	23	51.3	6	1
Bob Willis	1971-1984	14	60	5/32	9/92	19	50.3	3	0
Derek Underwood	1969-1975	8	48	7/32	12/97	12	44.1	6	3
Andy Caddick	1997-2002	9	47	6/63	9/172	20	49.3	3	0
Tony Lock	1958-1959	7	47	7/35	11/65	7.8	32.0	5	2
James Anderson	2008-2013	10	46	7/43	9/98	25	43.5	3	0
Ryan Sidebottom	2008-2008	6	41	7/47	10/139	18	39.6	4	1
Fred Trueman	1958-1965	11	40	7/75	9/91	19	54.1	2	0
Phil DeFreitas	1988-1994	10	39	5/53	9/165	27	61.6	2	0
Stuart Broad	2008-2013	10	38	7/44	8/108	29	53.7	2	0

There are as many as four bowlers who have played in the 2000s, two of whom (Anderson and Stuart Broad) are very much still a part of England’s team.

NOTE: As many as 10 English bowlers have seven-fors against New Zealand. Derek Underwood’s deadly spell of 7 for 32 at Lord’s is the best by an English bowler against New Zealand. READ: Cannot use IPL 2015 as excuse, says Brendon McCullum

For New Zealand, no bowler barring Richard Hadlee has over 50 wickets, though Dion Nash and Tony MacGibbon did quite well. Below is the list of 10 highest wicket-takers for New Zealand in England:

As seen above, none barring Daniel Vettori and Chris Cairns played this century, and both of them are now retired.

Below is a list of the 10 leading wicket-takers for New Zealand against England in England:

Name	Period	M	W	BBI	BBM	Ave	SR	5WIs	10WMs
Richard Hadlee	1973-1990	21	97	6/26	10/100	25	60.3	8	2
Richard Collinge	1965-1978	15	48	5/74	6/77	28	72.8	1	0
Chris Cairns	1992-2004	14	47	6/52	9/187	30	54.1	4	0
Daniel Vettori	1997-2008	17	45	5/66	6/177	37	88.7	2	0
Jack Cowie	1937-1949	8	39	6/67	10/140	24	48.7	3	1
Ewan Chatfield	1975-1988	12	34	5/95	8/123	33	84.6	1	0
Dion Nash	1994-1999	7	34	6/76	11/169	21	46.6	2	1
Lance Cairns	1975-1984	11	32	7/74	10/144	31	83.1	2	1
John Bracewell	1983-1990	13	31	4/38	6/168	36	80.2	0	0
Dick Motz	1963-1969	11	28	5/108	5/107	42	97.5	1	0

Once again, there are no active cricketers in the mix, the latest players being Chris Cairns and Vettori.

NOTE: Lance Cairns has two seven-wicket hauls against England. He is the only New Zealand cricketer to take a seven-for against them. His best, 7 for 74, came at Headingley. READ: England scared of Tim Southee and Trent Boult, claims British media

The tables above do not tell the full tale. Both sides have some very talented young cricketers who have not yet played against each other too often. Be it Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson or Joe Root and Gary Balance or Trent Boult and Matt Henry or Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes, both teams have a lot of young talent on offer.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

• 
• 
•