A brief history ... 1983 - 2007-08

New Zealand v England - Part Three

Will Luke

1929-30 to 1958 | 1958-59 to 1978 | 1978 -

Bob Willis, England's captain in 1983 © Getty Images

1983 in England
New Zealand lost 3-1, but finally broke their duck in the second Test at Headingley, beating England in England for the first time. After losing at The Oval, New Zealand prospered at Headingley with a lead of 152. David Gower managed his fist home hundred in three years in the second innings to set the visitors 101. And although Bob Willis tore in like a "stampeding bronco", as Wisden Cricket Monthly described it, Jeremy Coney flicked the winning runs through midwicket to begin the celebrations. They were brought back down to earth with a bump in the third at Lord's, with Nick Cook running through them with five on debut - and he did it again with nine wickets at Trent Bridge. Richard Hadlee was left stranded on 92.
England 3 New Zealand 1

1983-84 in New Zealand
A forgettable tour for England, who lost 1-0. Three out of their fifteen were lost through injury or illness - and they were accused (and later cleared) of smoking pot. They reached their nadir in the second Test (Willis branded it some of the worst bowling he had ever seen by an England team), allowing New Zealand to reach 307 on a very tricky pitch. England, in contrast, were blown away for 82 and 93 - the first time an England side had lost to New Zealand by an innings. Hadlee stood out with 99 and a match haul of 8 for 44.
New Zealand 1 England 0 Drawn 2

1986 in England
After a draw in the first Test at Lord's, New Zealand notched their second Test victory in England in 55 years in the second at Trent Bridge. Hadlee took 10 wickets in the match - at 35, now a master of swing bowling - but it was the unlikely figure of John Bracewell which tipped the balance; his 110, batting at No. 8, led New Zealand to 413 before 3 for 29 in the second innings sealed the deal. New Zealand scrapped hard at The Oval and were indebted to Wright's 119, his fifth hundred. He, and ultimately the rain, prompted a draw and New Zealand's first series win in England.
New Zealand 1 England 0 Drawn 2

1987-88 in New Zealand
A forgettable drawn series in which England's surly behaviour cast a murky shadow. Mike Gatting, the England captain, was without Botham, Gower and Graham Gooch and their bowling lacked the bit of Neil Foster. Had Foster been available England ought to have led the series 1-0 after the first Test at Christchurch. The pitches were low and painfully slow, but to the liking of Chris Broad whose two Boycott-like hundreds were admirable in their determination if not particularly exciting innings. Graham Dilley, who took 5 for 60 in the second Test at Auckland, led the attack with spirit - a little too much in one instance when he was fined £250 for loudly swearing at an umpire's decision. Martin Crowe topped the New Zealand averages with 216 runs at 43.20 after his 143 in the final Test led to yet another draw.
New Zealand 0 England 0 Drawn 3

Richard Hadlee signed off from Test cricket with his 36th five-for © Getty Images

1990 in England
After two draws, at last - a victory on home soil for England, when they beat New Zealand at Edgbaston, bring to an end a run of six drawn Tests between the two countries. It was also England's first win on home soil since they beat Sri Lanka at Lord's in 1988. This wasn't the send-off Sir Richard Hadlee deserved, though he signed off in style with his 36th and final five-for, decimating England for 158 in their second innings. However, Devon Malcolm was younger and a lot quicker, tearing through New Zealand with 5 for 46. He hit Trevor Franklin so badly that the batsman was still troubled by internal bleeding two days later.
England 1 New Zealand 0 Drawn 2

1992-92 in New Zealand
A remarkable win for England at Christchurch, when all seemed lost, took them to their first win on New Zealand soil since 19778-78. At tea on the final afternoon, New Zealand appeared safe before Phil Tufnell ran through them with six quick wickets. At 264 for 9, New Zealand had Chris Pringle and Martin Crowe. If New Zealand could gather four runs, the match would be saved as there would be no time for England to take on the run-chase, however small. So Crowe gambled, tried to hit Tufnell down the ground but miscued him to extra cover. The 'cat' had 7 for 47, and England marched to another victory in the second Test at Auckland thanks to Gooch's workmanlike 114. The third was drawn, and most memorable for David Lawrence splitting open his knee cap.
New Zealand 0 England 2 Drawn 1

1994 in England
Phil DeFreitas was in prime form in 1994, and at his best early in the season. His nine wickets at Trent Bridge (not discounting the small matter of 210 from Gooch) led England to a thumping innings-and-90 run win, but New Zealand fought back in the second at Lord's through Crowe's majestic 142 and Dion Nash's marvellous bowling. England held on for a draw, but Nash became the first New Zealander to take 11 wickets against England - memorably managing to move the ball up the slope - and the first to take 10 and score a fifty. Darren Gough announced himself to the world at Old Trafford in the third, with 65 and six wickets on his debut.
England 1 New Zealand 0 Drawn 1

1996-97 in New Zealand
After a draw in the first Test, a bespectacled 18-year-old, Daniel Vettori, made his debut in the second at Wellington. But England dominated it thanks to a brilliant 108 from Graham Thorpe, on a juicy pitch. Gough (nine in the match) and Andrew Caddick combined superbly too, while Gough's room-mate, Robert Croft, took 3 for 19 from 20 overs. The third Test at Christchurch belonged indisputably to Mike Atherton who was on the field for the first 27.5 hours of the game. 94* in the first innings; a brilliantly defiant 118 in the second. Croft was too canny, too skillful even, for New Zealand with seven wickets in the match.
England 2 New Zealand 0 Drawn 1

Nasser Hussain faces the press after England were beaten at home in 1999 © Getty Images

1999 in England
After they were wrecked for 126, Caddick spared England's blushes with 5 for 32 in the first Test to dismiss New Zealand for just 107. A memorable 99 from Alex Tudor, batting as nightwatchman, led to a seven-wicket win. But New Zealand were by no means finished, thumping England at Lord's (their first in England since 1986) before Chris Cairns and Nash bowled them to a 2-1 series victory at The Oval. It was Nasser Hussain's first series as captain; England had hit their lowest ebb and the fans booed him off. He was later to describe it as a pivotal moment, one which made him "more determined" than ever to succeed.
England 1 New Zealand 2 Drawn 0

2001-02 in New Zealand
England won an extraordinary first test at Christchurch, thanks to Matthew Hoggard's 7 for 63 which included a spell of 5 for 59. But the real fun started with Andrew Flintoff who smashed 137 from 163, and Graham Thorpe with an unbeaten 200. That both these innings were overshadowed by a ballistic 222 from Nathan Astle, scored from 168 balls, said much about the quality of batsmanship on show. And then tragedy struck, with the news that Ben Hollioake, friend and team-mate to many of the England team, had died in a car crash in Australia. It was, as the coach Duncan Fletcher later wrote in his autobiography Behind the Shades, virtually impossible to raise the squad's spirit and they collapsed in the third Test. A series which got away.
New Zealand 1 England 1 Drawn 1

2004 in England
Andrew Strauss and Steve Harmison's series. Strauss made 112 on his debut, at his home ground Lord's, and ought to have had another in the second innings but for Hussain running him out. Harmison was ferociously quick, picking up eight wickets in England's seven-wicket win. Geraint Jones first and only hundred led England to a match-winning 526 at Headingley and Harmison (again deadly) was well supported by Hoggard. A 3-0 series whitewash was completed at Trent Bridge when Ashley Giles and Harmison shared seven wickets in New Zealand's second innings, leaving England 284 to win. Thorpe's inch-perfect 104 saw them home.
England 3 New Zealand 0

Will Luke is a staff writer at Cricinfo

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