Cricket-New Zealand v England test series
WELLINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - A two-test series between New Zealand and England begins at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday:
FIXTURES (start times GMT):
1st test - March 22-26, Auckland (0100)
2nd test - March 30-April 3, Christchurch (2200)
NEW ZEALAND
Test ranking: 4
Captain: Kane Williamson
Coach: Mike Hesson
Squad: Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, BJ Watling, Todd Astle, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Martin Guptill
Recent form:
Beat West Indies 2-0 at home
Lost South Africa 1-0 at home
Beat Bangladesh 2-0 at home
Beat Pakistan 2-0 at home
Lost India 3-0 away
ENGLAND
Test ranking: 5
Captain: Joe Root
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Squad: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson, Liam Livingstone, Mason Crane, Craig Overton, Ben Foakes
Recent form:
Lost Australia 4-0 away
Beat West Indies 2-1 at home
Beat South Africa 3-1 at home
Lost India 4-0 away
Drew Bangladesh 1-1 away
HEAD TO HEAD
Total: 101
New Zealand wins: 9
England wins: 48
Draws: 44
IN NEW ZEALAND
Total: 47
New Zealand wins: 4
England wins: 18
Draws: 25
LAST 10 TESTS
2015 - New Zealand won by 199 runs Leeds
2015 - England won by 124 runs London
2013 - England won by 247 runs Leeds
2013 - England won by 170 runs London
2013 - Match drawn Auckland
2013 - Match drawn Wellington
2013 - Match drawn Dunedin
2008 - England won by innings & nine runs Nottingham
2008 - England won by six wickets Manchester
2008 - Match drawn London
FIRST TEST
Eden Park, Auckland - Capacity: 50,000
Originally a drained swamp, it became a sports ground in 1900 and has been the home of Auckland cricket since 1910 and Auckland rugby since 1925.
It is also the site of the infamous flour bomb rugby test between South Africa and New Zealand in 1981 and where the hosts collapsed to the lowest test cricket score of 26 against England in 1955.
While a dual-purpose venue it has become more of a specialised rugby ground with the construction of stands for the 2011 Rugby World Cup creating a strange configuration for cricket with short boundaries behind square and straight down the ground.
Has fallen out of favour as a test venue in recent years, having hosted just 10 matches in the last 20 years and two in the last decade, with New Zealand Cricket preferring the boutique-sized grounds in Hamilton, Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington.
Its floodlights and large capacity, however, make it ideal as the venue for the country's first day-night test.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford, Paul Reiffel (both Australia)
TV official: Marais Erasmus (South Africa)
Fourth official: Wayne Knights (New Zealand)
Match referee: Richie Richardson (West Indies)
HISTORY
Previous New Zealand v England tests in Auckland
Matches: 16
New Zealand wins: 1
England wins: 4
Draws: 11
Recent results:
2013 - Match drawn
2002 - New Zealand won by 78 runs
1997 - Match drawn
1992 - England won by 162 runs
1988 - Match drawn (Compiled by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)