New Zealand v England, 1st Test: Where to Watch Live, Preview, Team News

England take on New Zealand at the University Oval Stadium in Dunedin, in the first Test of the three-match series. The visitors are in good form coming into the series, having won both the T20 and ODI series by a similar margin 2-1.

Where to Watch Live

The match starts at 9.30pm GMT, with Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD providing live coverage in the UK.

Overview

New Zealand come into the Tests having been trounced 2-0 in a two-match series by South Africa, with the Proteas winning by an innings to spare in both games. The Kiwis are clearly the underdogs in this fixture, having won only eight but losing 45 of the 94 Tests played between the two sides over the years. They have also not won a Test series at home against England since their 1-0 victory in 1986. However, New Zealand did administer a shock 2-1 series win in England in 1999.

Much of the attention will be on newly appointed captain Brendon McCullum, who took over after Ross Taylor was sacked as the skipper of the national team from all three formats before the South Africa series. McCullum is in good form, scoring three consecutive half centuries in the ODIs and will be looking to put their past disappointments aside to muster a shock win over England.

England are currently second in the Test rankings and are in brilliant form coming into the the longest format of the game, having engineered a 2-1 win over India in the recently concluded series in the subcontinent. However, a defeat in a warm up match against a NZ XI in Queenstown has taken some sheen out of what was anticipated to be a stroll in the park for the England side. Skipper Alastair Cook is in the form of his life, scoring 562 runs in the series against India, including three hundreds.

England have won eight of the last 12 Tests between the two sides after the debacle in 1999 but will be wary of New Zealand who are unbeaten at the University Oval in four tests, winning two and drawing the rest.

Form Guide

New Zealand

Last Five Tests: (internationals, most recent first): L L W L L

England

Last Five Tests: (internationals, most recent first): D W W L L

Team News

New Zealand: Doug Bracewell is unavailable for selection leaving coach Neil Wagner with Ian Butler and Bruce Martin to choose from.

Probable Line-Up: Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Dean Brownlie, Brendon McCullum (c), BJ Watling (wk), Tim Southee, Bruce Martin, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult

England: Stuart Broad is set to feature for England after missing out against India owing to injury. Nick Compton is also expected to continue alongside Cook in the opening spot, in spite of having scored only 22 runs in the two innings in the tour game in Queenstown.

Probable Line-Up: Alastair Cook (c), Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn