Former English fast bowler, Bob Willis, passed away last night aged 70. Willis made his debut for England in 1971 and played in 90 Tests in 13 years, picking 325 wickets and even captained the side in the latter stages of his career.

England great Bob Willis 1949-2019
90 Tests
325 wickets
Ashes hero
May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/EsqgYX8qAL

�?ICC (@ICC) December 4, 2019

At the time of his retirement, Bob Willis was the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, ending up only behind Australian quick, Dennis Lillee. Willis�?career-best performance came in that famous Headingley Ashes Test in 1981.

Australia declared at 401/9 and England were bowled out for 174 in reply. They were asked to follow-on and Sir Ian Botham scored a famous 149 in just 148 balls to take England to 356 in their second essay, setting Australia a small target of 129.

However, they did not account for Bob Willis. The pacer ripped apart the line-up, picking up 8-43 to bundle out Australia for 111 to give England the victory of a lifetime and a memory that was spoken about for ages.

Ben Stokes�?innings in this year’s Ashes, where scored a scintillating 135* to help England chase down a mammoth 359 in the fourth innings at Headingley was reminiscent of that famous Ian Botham century, and set in stone the notion of being England’s first proper all-rounder since the great man retired.

Willis was a beloved figure in England and across the cricket world, as he impressed even in his second innings as a commentator and pundit, and was covering games even as recent as England’s tour to New Zealand.

As expected, the tributes poured in for the English great:

Such a sad time for cricket fans all around the world. Rest In Peace Bob.

You shall be remembered forever for what you have done on the pitch! #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/kpv5BsCyyL

�?Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) December 4, 2019

Waking to the sad news of the passing of the great Bob Willis. Red wine and story time Smithy’s will never be forgotten Bob. Wonderful man to work with and one champion of a bowler. RIP #BobWillis Thoughts with Lauren and the family..

�?Simon Doull (@Sdoull) December 4, 2019

Very sad news to hear the passing of Bob Willis.. One of England’s greatest ever.. Huge heart that was fierce in all battles let alone the Ashes... Only met him a few times but was always a gentlemen and just loved the game of cricket.. #BobWillis #RipBobWillis #England #Great //t.co/i37YtAmXNe

�?Damien Martyn (@damienmartyn) December 4, 2019

“A remarkable human being.�?Bob, you were truly one of the greats of this beautiful game. R.I.P. #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/Or6WE1qxa8

�?Brian Lara (@BrianLara) December 5, 2019

Such sad news. Bob was an English legend, inspired a generation of fast bowlers around the world & was a good bloke. RIP mate #bobwillis #RIPBob #englandcricket #FBC //t.co/jaSc72VIPW

�?Glenn McGrath (@glennmcgrath11) December 4, 2019

Such sad news regarding the legend Bob Willis
An icon of the game I love,growing up as an 11 year old watching big Bob running down the hill 8/43 at the home of cricket Headingley
I’ll miss you Bob
A glass of red will be raised tonight x

�?Darren Gough (@DGoughie) December 4, 2019

Gutted to hear the news of Bob Willis passing. A lovely person with a great humour who was so proud of England cricket. Legend. pic.twitter.com/g4AQcnRK4n

�?Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 4, 2019

Incredibly sad to hear the news about Bob Willis. He was a true great, generous in sharing his knowledge about the game and a lovely man. RIP Bob x pic.twitter.com/HYJbLlQJRZ

�?James Anderson (@jimmy9) December 4, 2019

We're very sad to hear of the passing of MCC Honorary Life Member, Bob Willis.

A Lord's legend & former England captain whose name is on the Honours Boards three times.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/KgyQbHdYqq

�?Lord's Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) December 4, 2019

RIP Bob Willis ❤️

A true great of the game! He will be sorely missed!

Our thoughts go out to Bob's family and friends. pic.twitter.com/IiihvMAMdw

�?England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) December 4, 2019

Oh no, not Bob Willis... what joy he gave, and what a marvellous man. That 8 for 43. Used to lunch with him occasionally to talk cricket, Wagner and Bob Dylan, his three great passions.

�?Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 4, 2019

All at Surrey County Cricket Club are devastated to learn of the passing of former Surrey and England bowler Bob Willis.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. pic.twitter.com/hTzuyNaz4X

�?Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) December 4, 2019

Just saw the news on Bob Willis and very sad indeed. Had the pleasure of working with him for @SkyCricket and off air I just loved listening to his great stories on how they played the game back in the day. RIP Great man #onceabearalwaysabear

�?Allan Donald (@AllanDonald33) December 4, 2019

Sir Ian Botham often referred to Willis as the ‘only world-class fast bowler�?England possessed and the world will truly miss that famous bowling action which many a kid in the 80’s tried to replicate.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @surreycricket

Jofra Archer was allegedly racially abused by a fan on the last day of the first Test against New Zealand, an incident he brought to light on his Twitter account after the game ended on Monday.

A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team , the crowd was been amazing this week except for that one guy , @TheBarmyArmy was good as usual also

�?Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) November 25, 2019

The incident apparently occurred when Archer was walking back to the pavilion after a 50-ball 30 as England were dismissed for 197 in their second essay, losing to the home side by an innings and 65 runs and conceding a lead in the two-match Test series.

The England Cricket Board (ECB) have launched an investigation into the incident, and England’s director of men’s cricket, Ashley Giles said that such incidents were hurtful and that the board fully supported Archer.

The 24-year-old, who had faced a similar incident during the Ashes, has spoken out against racism in the past, claiming that such people were �?a href="//krikya888s.com/cricket/news/racists-out-of-tune-with-changing-world-says-jofra-archer">out of tune�?with the world.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket said they would be apologizing to Jofra Archer for the insults. "New Zealand Cricket will be contacting, and apologising to English fast bowler Jofra Archer, who was racially abused by a spectator as he left the field at the conclusion of the first Test at Bay Oval," they said in their apology statement.

We are shocked and disappointed to hear of the verbal abuse @JofraArcher received after the Test today. @englandcricket might be our rivals but they're also our friends and racist abuse is never okay!

�?BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 25, 2019

New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson also said he would personally apologize to the England fast bowler.

The perpetrator had apparently been identified too as he had messaged Archer on a social media platform later in the day, reported ESPNCricinfo.

Archer received support from fellow Englishman, Marcus Rashford:

Unreal talent and already a national hero. Deserve better bro so just keep doing your thing

You still up for that challenge?

�?Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) November 25, 2019

Racism has dominated headlines in recent months in football. Bulgaria were fined by FIFA and were ordered to play a game behind closed doors after a few of their fans racially abused Raheem Sterling and other players during a World Cup qualifying fixture against England.

A lot of people have spoken up against racism and leagues and boards across the world have been urged to take up stricter action and formulate methods to deal with such incidents.

Read | Racism in football: Three instances where players stood up

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Michael Bradley

No, India aren't playing any more Tests at home till 2021, but that doesn't mean we have zero Test match action in the country. Afghanistan and West Indies - oh yes, that series isn't done yet - take on each other and some flies at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow for a one-off Test match. Though Afghanistan aren't a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) and this match isn't a part of the WTC, there is keen interest on Afghanistan's start to the Test cricket. They have won two of their first three Test matches, including an away win against Bangladesh. West Indies, who lost the T20I series, will know their opponents are no pushovers.

Watch out for:

Rashid Khan - What's Afghanistan cricket without the prodigal son, Rashid Khan. The leg-spinner has a rather meek initiation to Test cricket with India ruining his Test debut. But since then, he has stormed back to be the Rashid Khan we all know him to be. He has 18 wickets in his last two Test matches after just two wickets in his opening Test. Take him lightly at your own risk.

Day-night Test at Adelaide

We know Tim Paine extended a rather warm - or cheeky - welcome to Virat Kohli to play a day-night Test in Australia, but that's not happening until next year. For now, it's Pakistan, who lost inside four days at Brisbane, who will play a day-night Test with the pink ball. The last time these two teams played a day-night Test in Australia, we had a rather close finish on day five despite Australia dominating the entire Test. Just Pakistan things, but this series needs some of that unpredictability to spark more interest.

Watch out for:

Naseem Shah - 16 or 19 or 25, Naseem Shah had a proper debut at Brisbane. While he bowled just 20 overs - and only four on day 3 - in Australia's first innings, bowling coach Waqar Younis put that down to giving the youngster lesser workload. He can swing the ball, clock speeds in the high 140s and test the batsmen with bounce. With a pink ball in hand, he could be that much-needed weapon for Pakistan.

And that weird England-New Zealand game

Now every time New Zealand and England play, people expect miracles. The teams haven't stopped dishing out midnight miracles yet, and at Mount Maunganui, it was BKJ Watling's double ton and Mitchell Santner's hundred that brought New Zealand back from the dead in the first innings. The Black Caps have a rather funny way of imposing themselves on matches once they start to find their groove, one reason for their Test success in recent times. But England are no easy proposition and a seething Jofra Archer can mean only one thing - more perfume balls.

Watch out for:

Stuart Broad - He was nearly absent in the first Test match with Archer, Sam Curran and even Jack Leach hogging headlines. But Broad is Broad and he has his way when things start going his way. Ask David Warner. 33 wicketless overs at Mount Maunganui should play on Broad's mind but expect him to put that behind and produce a much better display with conditions expected to be even more conducive to swing bowling at Hamilton.

Wondering what to do next? Head to Sportsbet.io to select your picks.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Michael Bradley

England lost three wickets to Mitchell Santner on the fourth day of the first Test match at Mount Maunganui as New Zealand extended their advantage over the Poms. A spinner taking the first three wickets in a Test innings is nothing new. But in New Zealand, it is a remarkable feat. Let's see why.

In the first innings as New Zealand bowled out England for 335, all 10 wickets to fall were taken by the quicker bowlers. Incidentally, it was the eleventh successive time in Tests in New Zealand that a New Zealand spinner had failed to take a single wicket.

In this same time frame, New Zealand's pacers have totalled a whopping 101 wickets. Just gauge the extent of that - 101 wickets to pace and zero to spin.

Trent Boult - 31 wickets

Tim Southee - 31 wickets

Neil Wagner - 27 wickets

Colin de Grandhomme - 10 wickets

Matt Henry - 2 wickets

These were the pacers to take wickets for New Zealand in a period dating back to March 2018.

In this same time frame, the New Zealand spinners bowled 93.5 overs for 268 runs without taking a single wicket. Following is the split of overs by New Zealand spinners in this time frame:

Ajaz Patel - 43 overs

Todd Astle - 20 overs

Ish Sodhi - 16 overs

Mitchell Santner - 11.5 overs

Kane Williamson - 2 overs

Jeet Raval - 1 over

Until Santner picked up the wicket of Dominic Sibley in the 22nd over of the innings and Santner's sixth, New Zealand's last wicket by a spinner was when Todd Astle dismissed James Anderson in a win at Auckland last year.

It took 608 days from then to Santner's wicket on Sunday for New Zealand spinners to break their drought at home. While pitches in New Zealand have been known to be conducive to pace, the fact that a home spinner hadn't taken a single wicket in nearly one and a half years is a shocking revelation.

Mitchell Santner, who scored a hundred in New Zealand's batting innings, then went on to claim two more wickets in the day as all three England wickets to fall in the second innings went to a spinner. The phrase "when it rains, it pours" was brought to life by Santner as he ran through the top-order, dismissing Sibley, Burns and nightwatchman, Jack Leach, to finish with 3/6 in the day. 

Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray

Half-centuries from Joe Denly and Ben Stokes breathed life into England who reached 241 for four at stumps after a slow start on the first day of the opening Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui on Thursday. 

With England intent on occupying the crease as long as possible -- although captain Joe Root's stay was very brief -- and New Zealand bowling tight lines, run-scoring was not a priority but the day was not without its drama.

Denly, who claimed the honours in a fascinating battle with New Zealand's short-ball maestro Neil Wagner, fell for 74 when the second new ball was taken. 

New Zealand-born Stokes, who punished Trent Boult with four boundaries off consecutive balls, including one from a dropped catch by Ross Taylor at first slip, was unbeaten on 67 with Ollie Pope on 18.

Denly put on 83 with Stokes for the fourth wicket as England added 120 in the final session, doubling the score, for the loss of only Denly's wicket.

He was caught behind off Tim Southee after earlier ducking and weaving his way through a fascinating battle with Wagner, showing no sign of the ankle injury which kept him out of the Twenty20 series.

Throughout the onslaught, the edges fell short of the cordon, and balls that did beat the bat then missed the stumps, but Denly refused to be intimidated as he smacked five rising balls to the fence. 

England's top three played their part in getting a safe start with Surrey pair Rory Burns and Dom Sibley putting on 52 for the first wicket before Burns and Denly added 61 for the second.

'Bat long'

Debutant Sibley, the only wicket to fall in the morning session, started his Test career with a four off the first ball he faced on his way to 22, while Burns was out for 52 before tea. 

His dismissal brought Root to the crease for what turned out to be a short-lived stay.

Having recited the England mantra of "bat long" when he won the toss, Root took 21 balls to get off the mark with a two and then wafted at a wide next delivery from Neil Wagner and was caught behind. 

In his last eight Test innings Root now has three ducks and a two. 

Burns might also have been removed cheaply but a caught behind appeal when he was on 10, and the total 14, was turned down.

New Zealand, to their cost, did not review the decision and replays showed there was a faint edge. 

Burns offered further chances on 37 and 44 but luck stayed with him until he reached his well-grafted 52, when he gave up his wicket pushing at a wide de Grandhomme delivery and edged it to wicketkeeper BJ Watling.

De Grandhomme, with gentle medium pacers drifting away from the batsmen, finished with two for 28 while Southee and Wagner had a wicket each.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray

England captain Joe Root has declared himself free of any Ashes hangover as he looked to revive his fortunes and those of his team in the two-Test series in New Zealand starting on Thursday.

Root said he had been working on his batting shortcomings and denied the Test captaincy weighed on his performance in the drawn mid-year series against Australia, in which he suffered three ducks as England failed to regain the Ashes.

Neither England nor New Zealand were prepared to name their line-ups Thursday for what will be the maiden Test at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval ground.

But Root said rising star Jofra Archer "would bring something different to what we had previously" in the bowling stakes, indicating the paceman will be included.  

New Zealand will not be fighting fire with fire -- their genuine quick Lockie Ferguson is in the squad for the first time, but captain Kane Williamson said he would sit out the first Test.

England have had the upper hand over New Zealand this year, narrowly winning the World Cup on the boundary countback rule when the final was tied, and winning the recent Twenty20 series 3-2 when a super over was needed to separate the two sides. 

But while the wins were satisfying, Root said Test cricket was another level altogether and after failing to beat Australia he fancied England could start on the road to redemption against New Zealand. 

"Long term it's important that we look after Test cricket in England and we make it a priority," he said. 

"You look at the guys in the dressing room and they're all desperate to get that right. We feel we're in a strong position to take this team forward."

'My game's in good order'

Root, who averages 47.91 but was well off his best with an average of 32.50 against Australia this year, was adamant the pressure of captaincy was not an issue. 

"It's very clear that I want to be leading this team moving forward," he said. 

"I'm not concerned about it. I know I've not performed as I'd like to in previous series and probably over the last year, but they're challenges you face as an international player. It could have been exactly the same if I wasn't captain. 

"I've gone away and worked out a few things and feel like my game's in good order coming into this series."

Despite Root's confidence, New Zealand go into the series ranked second in the world, one spot ahead of England, and have won seven of their past eight home series including a 1-0 win in a two-match series against England 20 months ago.

Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, who took 32 of the 40 England wickets to fall in that series, were confirmed Thursday as again forming the bowling pace attack.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Michael Bradley

New Zealand and England will take their cricketing rivalry into the Test arena Thursday after finding themselves evenly matched in recent limited-overs thrillers.

England have bragging rights after winning a rollercoaster World Cup final in July, then edging the Black Caps 3-2 in a desperately close T20 series completed earlier this month.

Both the one-day decider and T20 series needed tie-breakers to find a winner and there will be no shortage of mutual respect when the rivals face off again Thursday in the First Test at Mount Maunganui.

On paper, there again appears to be little to separate the teams, with New Zealand second in the Test rankings and England third.

But England skipper Joe Root is painfully aware that his team underperformed when it lost a two-Test series in New Zealand last year after underestimating the Black Caps' bowlers on their home turf.

Pacemen Trent Boult and Tim Southee bundled the tourists out for 58 in the first innings of the opening Test as England tried to play what Root described as "fast forward" cricket.

England's skipper said his team would be taking a more measured approach this time, with batsmen placing an emphasis on protecting their wickets.

"We have to be prepared to play some attritional cricket at times," he said.

"We have to try to bat longer, it would be nice to get used to batting for 120 overs more regularly, especially in the first innings."  

The series will not count towards the World Test Championship, giving new England coach Chris Silverwood room to experiment in his first Test series in charge.

He is expected to hand opening batsman Dominic Sibley his debut, partnering Rory Burns, with Root moving down to fourth in the order.

New Zealand will take the opportunity to blood speedster Lockie Ferguson, who has already excelled in limited overs internationals and was described as "an extreme talent" by short-ball specialist Neil Wagner.

"I know he's raring to go. If he gets the opportunity, he'll make the most of it," Wagner said.

New Zealand will also be bolstered by the return of captain Kane Williamson, who sat out the T20 series with a nagging hip injury.

It will be the first Test match ever staged at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval, which has been hosting limited-overs internationals since 2014.

The beachside venue is Wagner's home ground and he said the wicket could take time to get used to.

"It's been a pretty good wicket that's tended to be on the flatter side but there's always pace and bounce that you can work with," he said.

"It's also got it's own unique challenges with wind that swirls around a bit."

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

England squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ David Gray

India ensured they didn't have to work on a Sunday by ending the first Test of the Bangladesh series at Indore inside three days. However, such luck might elude them at Kolkata for the pink ball Test with the action set to begin on Friday.

The Day-night Test match timings are adjusted to ensure office-goers can attend the matches late in the evenings, but if India's bowlers continue to be as potent and Bangladesh's batsmen are weak as they have been, we might just see a two-day finish. This would mean another off day on Sunday. If you see it that way, this is turning more into a contest between India and Sunday rather than India and Bangladesh

WATCH OUT FOR:

Mohammed Shami: Enough said of the batsmen. We have a clear winner in the bowling category in Mohammed Shami. The pace bowler has taken 29 wickets in his last six Test matches including 18 of them in the second innings of Tests. He sleeps through the first innings before coming to life in the second and is one player to watch out for with the pink ball in hand.

Read: Shami stars in India's crushing Test win over Bangladesh

Australia and mercurial Pakistan

Steven Smith's marathon run of form will have a major roadblock when he takes on Pakistan at home in the first Test at Brisbane. Oh wait, maybe not! In 35 Tests at home against Pakistan, Australia have only lost four in their cricketing history. With Pakistan sporting a new-look outfit and Australia set to steam in with full power after an Ashes win, this could well be another big series for Smith and his team, err, Paine and his team.

Read: Australia ban Pattinson from Pakistan Test for 'personal abuse'

WATCH OUT FOR:

Pat Cummins: 43 wickets in eight matches. That's Pat Cummins leading the bowling charts in Tests in 2019 with quite some lead over the next best bowler who has 34. His pace, accuracy and relentless aggression make Cummins a big player for Australia in Tests and Pakistan will have their task cut out against someone like him.

England vs New Zealand and a tie looks unlikely, maybe a draw?

It seems like every time England and New Zealand face-off, we have a tie these days. After the World Cup finals, we saw another tie and Super Over in the final T20I at Auckland, and as we head into the longest format of the game, let's just hope there are no more heart-wrenching moments. In their 49-match history in New Zealand, England have had a great time, winning 18 and losing five. Wait, where are the rest of the results? 26 of these matches have ended in tame draws. Wow! So how's this series going to pan out? The first Test starts this upcoming week at Mount Maunganui.

Read: A dramatic Super Over repeat between New Zealand and England

WATCH OUT FOR:

Stuart Broad: Following Pat Cummins close on his heels in 2019 is Stuart Broad with 34 wickets in eight Tests. There's no David Warner, unfortunately, but Broad is likely to have enough left-handers to aim at as the Tests against New Zealand kick-off. To start off with, New Zealand's openers, Jeet Raval and Tom Latham, are both lefties. That should be a mouth-watering contest given that Broad has been excellent against left-handers for a while now.

Wondering what to do next? Head to Sportsbet.io to select your picks.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Indranil Mukherjee

Ben Stokes admitted on Friday he is not interested in captaining England in the future.

Stokes has emerged as one of the most charismatic and exciting England stars for decades, but the all-rounder isn't keen to shoulder the extra responsibility of the captaincy.

After playing a key role in England's historic first 50-over World Cup victory earlier this year, Stokes also shone in the Ashes series against Australia.

He currently serves as deputy to Test skipper Joe Root but doesn't believe he would thrive as the team's leader.

"That's not an aspiration of mine. It's just not one of those things I'm desperate to do," Stokes told the BBC's Today programme.

"I'm very happy at the moment being vice-captain, we've got a great leader in Joe.

"You never know how you handle the pressure of being England captain unless you do it. Being the Test captain of England -- so much pressure comes with it.

"It's a huge burden to carry because everything falls back on you, especially if it goes bad, and you never know how you'll handle that pressure until you walk out onto the field as England captain.

"So, I've got no idea how I'd handle it if I did it but, as I say, it's not an aspiration of mine."

Stokes, 28, is on tour with England in New Zealand at present as he looks to finish a memorable year on a high note.

While he doesn't like the idea of being a captain, when he eventually retires, Stokes would welcome a coaching role.

"I guess there always comes a time when you have to start seriously thinking about it and I always say I'd love to be a coach in the future," he added.

"I can't ever see myself just completely disconnecting myself away from the game as some people have.

"But I'm still only 28, I have got plenty of years in the tank hopefully. But I'd love to stay in the game somehow and if that was as a coach, I'd love to do that."

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Glyn Kirk

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been declared fit for the first Test against England while white-ball speedster Lockie Ferguson earned his maiden Test call-up on Friday.

The talismanic Williamson, the world's third-ranked Test batsman, sat out the recent T20 series because of a nagging hip injury.

New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said the two-week break had Williamson primed to return for what will be a historic inaugural Test at his home ground of Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

"Kane's made good progress over the past fortnight and we're delighted to welcome back a player of his class and experience," Larsen said when naming a 15-man squad to face England and Australia over the next two months.

The call-up for Ferguson and the return of leg-spinner Todd Astle in place of spinners Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel are the only changes to the New Zealand squad from the recent away series against Sri Lanka.

The inclusion of Ferguson after an impressive domestic season caps a rapid rise for the quick bowler who has been a mainstay of New Zealand white-ball sides in recent years and was the second leading wicket-taker at the World Cup in England and Wales earlier this year.

"There's no doubt Lockie has been knocking on the door for a while now and we're delighted to finally bring him into the Test fold," Larsen said.

"It's well documented he has raw pace, but he also possesses a quality bowling skill set and has proved his durability."

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

The first Test against England starts on November 21.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Lakruwan Wanniarachchi