New Zealand National Cricket Team

New Zealand National Cricket Team

The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch.

The current Test, One-day and Twenty20 captain is Ross Taylor. Taylor replaced Daniel Vettori after Vettori stepped down following the 2011 World Cup. Vettori had replaced New Zealand's most successful captain, Stephen Fleming, who led New Zealand to 28 Test victories, more than twice as many as any other captain. The national team is organised by New Zealand Cricket.

The New Zealand cricket team became known as the Black Caps in January 1998, after its sponsor at the time, Clear Communications, held a competition to choose a name for the team. Official New Zealand Cricket sources typeset the nickname as BLACKCAPS.

As of February 2012, New Zealand have played 368 Test matches, winning 71, losing 148 and drawing 149.

Read more about New Zealand National Cricket Team:  History, Current Squad, Coaching Staff, World Records, Notable

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