Sports

Christchurch [New Zealand], April 9 (ANI): New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced the venues and dates for the England Test series, which will be held in November this year.

Hagley Oval in Christchurch will host the first Test on November 28. The second Test will be played at the Basin Reserve from December 6 which will be followed by the third Test at Seddon Park from December 14.

The three matches will be a part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. England previously toured New Zealand for a two-match Test series last year which ended 1-1 after the Kiwis won the second Test by one run. However, the two-match series wasn't a part of the WTC cycle.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink stated that the announcement comes after the growing popularity among the crowd for the longest format of cricket since the conclusion of the Test series against Australia last month.

"In the past, there's often been a lot of talk in New Zealand about the popularity of Test cricket - without that translating into ticket sales or viewership numbers. The difference over the past summer, and in terms of the upcoming Tests against England, is that the interest is being converted to bums on seats and is driving record viewership numbers," NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said as quoted from a statement by NZC.

"We're looking forward to that continuing over the upcoming summer, and to welcoming the England team and their fans to the Tests, and of course all the Kiwi-based supporters as well," he added.

New Zealand Cricket also confirmed that Australia and Sri Lanka women's teams, alongside the Sri Lanka and Pakistan men's teams, will be touring in the 2024/2025 summer.

In the WTC table, the Kiwis are currently placed third with 36 points and a point percentage of 50.00. New Zealand have played six matches and have three wins and three defeats. (ANI)