Test cricket is special as it brings a unique excitement that cricket fans love. It is a format that truly tests players in many ways – their skills, focus, and mental, physical fitness to above pressure, situations, and lot more things. It also shows how strong mentally and physically the players are. To make test cricket more fun, and exciting, and viewers attention, the ICC started the World Test Championship (WTC). In this competition, teams play 3 series at home and 3 away.
WTC table Scenario as of now –
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | PCT |
| 1 | India | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 110 | 61.11 |
| 2 | Australia | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 90 | 57.69 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 55.56 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 72 | 54.55 |
| 5 | South Africa | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 52 | 54.17 |
| 6 | England | 19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 93 | 40.79 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8 | West Indies | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 32 | 26.67 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 25 |
This current WTC cycle, running from 2023 to 2025, is getting more interesting with every match. Need to figure out how Day 1 of the 1st Test match between New Zealand and England played out. The top 2 teams at the end of the World Test Championship cycle will compete for the WTC trophy in June 2025 at Lord’s in England.
The Toss: England Opt to Bowl First
To take full advantage of the unused pitch and conditions as this is the start of the season of cricket in New Zealand. England won the toss and decided to bowl first after winning the toss, aimed to use the conditions to their advantage.
New Zealand’s Batting Innings
New Zealand is high on confidence after winning their last test series against India. Making drastic changes in WTC table. Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, give a strong pillar to the innings. They showed good focus and solid defense. England still need 2 wickets to end Blackcaps innings.
NZ 1st Innings Scorecard –
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Tom Latham (c) | c Ollie Pope b Brydon Carse | 47 | 54 | 6 | 0 | 87.04 |
| Devon Conway | c and b Gus Atkinson | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Kane Williamson | c Zak Crawley b Gus Atkinson | 93 | 197 | 10 | 0 | 47.21 |
| Rachin Ravindra | c Zak Crawley b Shoaib Bashir | 34 | 49 | 3 | 0 | 69.39 |
| Daryl Mitchell | c Harry Brook b Brydon Carse | 19 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 40.43 |
| Tom Blundell (wk) | c Gus Atkinson b Shoaib Bashir | 17 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 53.12 |
| Glenn Phillips | batting | 41 | 58 | 4 | 1 | 70.69 |
| Nathan Smith | c Joe Root b Shoaib Bashir | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 23.08 |
| Matt Henry | c Ben Duckett b Shoaib Bashir | 18 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 56.25 |
| Tim Southee | batting | 10 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 52.63 |
England’s Bowling Performance
England bowlers worked hard to break the New Zealand partnerships. The pitch had some bounce, and England’s seamers made good use of it. The fast bowlers were quick, and their deliveries seemed to keep the New Zealand batters on their toes.
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD | ECO |
| Chris Woakes | 16 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.4 |
| Gus Atkinson | 18 | 2 | 61 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.4 |
| Brydon Carse | 15 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3.8 |
| Ben Stokes (c) | 13 | 1 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4.5 |
| Shoaib Bashir | 20 | 1 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
| Jacob Bethell | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Key Highlights of Day 1:
- Kane Williamson showed his class with 93 runs.
- Shoaib Bashir was the standout bowler for England, taking 4 wickets.
- Glen Phillip is still on the crease with 41 not out.
- Mixed day for England’s bowlers as they conceded 319 runs in 83 overs and took 8 wickets.
Looking Ahead for Day 2
The match is still very much in the balance. England will look to bounce back and build a strong second innings, while New Zealand will hope their bowlers can keep the pressure while bowling too, and get more wickets. With key players like Joe Root and Ben Duckett in the batting lineup, England will be eager to reach and surpass New Zealand’s total. Need to look at the England approach as well, will they still play Bazball cricket tomorrow or they opt for the typical test batting way?
For more updates on the match, make sure to check out 96in.com. You can also use the 96in.com app for live scores and more cricket news. Visit 96in.com login to stay up to date with all the latest cricket action.
