List of New Zealand Test cricket victories

The New Zealand cricket team's inaugural test match was played on January 10-12, 1930 against England in Christchurch. The team contained two of NZ's finest ever batsmen, Stewie Dempster and Roger Blunt but the match was lost.

1945/46 to 1954/55

In 1949 NZ sent one of its best ever sides to England. It contained Bert Sutcliffe, Martin Donnelly, John Reid and Jack Cowie. These 4 players consistently Appear in NZ test "dream teams". However, 3-day test matches ensured that all 4 tests were drawn. Donnelly and Cowie retired after the 1949 tour. Despite playing 42 tests for NZ, Sutcliffe never played in a test victory.

1955/56 to 1964/65

1 v West Indies at Auckland 1955/56 NZ won by 190 runs

The New Zealand cricket team achieved their first test win 45 matches and 26 years after playing their first test in 1930. Neither their form in the preceding season where they were bowled out for the world record low score of 26 by England, nor their form in the three matches prior to this one suggested NZ's first test victory was near at hand. The West Indies thrashed NZ in the first 3 matches of the 4 match series by an innings and 71 runs, an innings and 64 runs, and 9 wickets respectively.

In the end, the victory over the West Indies was as comprehensive as the 3 previous losses had been. NZ outplayed the West Indies from start to finish. John Reid, one of NZ's greatest cricketers, top scored for the match with 84 in the NZ first innings. Tony MacGibbon took 4 for 44 and Harry Cave 4 for 22 in the West Indies first innings of 145. The West Indies did even worse in their second bat, getting only 77, Cave again taking four wickets, 4 for 21.

As news of the tumbling West Indian wickets spread on the last afternoon of the match, Aucklanders began to flood into Eden Park to witness NZ's historic victory. When the last wicket fell the NZ fieldsman swooped on the stumps and around 7000 long-suffering supporters engulfed the ground.

Bangladesh has played 49 tests (July 2007) for 1 win against Zimbabwe team weakened by politics, in their 35th match. There were no easybeats in NZ's first 45 matches.

2 v South Africa at Cape Town 1961/62 NZ won by 72 runs

John Reid had a magnificent tour of South Africa in 1961/62. He scored a record 1915 first class runs with 7 centuries. Under his captaincy NZ won the 3rd and 5th matches and drew the series 2 - 2 with the South Africans.

NZ batted first and ended up with a first innings lead of 195 thanks to Zin Harris's only test century, 68 from Noel McGregor, 92 from Reid, 69 from Murray Chapple and when the South Africans batted, 5 for 48 from Frank Cameron.

South Africa had NZ at 163 for 9 in their second innings but a 49 run unbroken partnership from keeper Artie [...], (50* - his only test 50) and number 11, Cameron (10*) let Reid declare and set S.A. a target of 408. Jack Alabaster, the best leg spinner NZ has produced, took 4 for 119 to make sure the South Africans didn't get them.

3 v South Africa at Port Elizabeth 1961/62 NZ won by 40 runs

NZ were behind 2-1 in the series going into the fifth match. Again they batted first and got a healthy first innings lead (85), this time thanks to Paul Bartons only test century. All five NZ bowlers got wickets with [...] Motz having the best return, 3 for 33. In NZ's second innings Graham Dowling (78) and Reid (69) top scored and South Africa had to chase 314 to win.

Reid (45 overs 4 for 44) ripped out the middle of the South African line up and left them reeling at 193 for 7. The last 3 South Africans wickets put on 83 and gave their side a chance of a draw, but Cameron took the last wicket 21 minutes from the close of play on the final day to win the test and draw the series.

NZ did not win two tests in a series again until 1982/83 against an inexperienced Sri Lankan side in their first year of test cricket. They won both tests of a 2 match series.

1965/66 to 1974/75

4 v India at Christchurch 1967/68 NZ won by 6 wickets

The second test of 4. NZ batted first and Dowling scored 239 which was at the time a the highest score for NZ. Bruce Murray got 74 and Keith Thompson 69 on his test debut. Thompson played only one more test. When India batted Motz took 6 for 63 and India failed by 14 runs to avoid the follow-on score. In India's 2nd innings Gary Bartlett took 6 for 38, his best bowling performance, and India were all out for 301. The target to win was only 88, but Bevan Congdon finished on 61 not out.

The Indians objected to Bartlett's bowling action but he was not called for throwing. India's opening bowler Abid Ali, was however when he deliberated threw one delivery in protest, in NZ's second innings. Barlett who was one of the fastest bowlers to come out of NZ, played in the last 2 tests of the series, but never played test cricket again and retired from first class cricket aged 30. NZ lost the series 3-1.

5 v West Indies at Wellington 1968/69 NZ won by 6 wickets

NZ won the second test of a 3 match series after having lost the first. Motz took 6 for 69 to restrict the West Indies to 297 in the first innings. Glenn Turner in his second match scored 72 and Congdon 52 in NZ's 282 to ensure NZ stayed in touch. The West Indies collapsed in their second innings, scoring only 148 with Bob Cunis taking 3 for 35 and Bryan Yuile 3 for 26. NZ had little dfficulty making 166 to win the match. Brian Hastings got 62*. The third test was drawn and so was the series.

6 v India at Nagpur 1969/70 NZ won by 167 runs

NZ went on a six test tour of India and Pakistan, playing 3 matches against each. The Indian series was drawn 1-1. NZ won the series against the Pakistanis 1-0. This was their first ever test series win. The tour was hard going for the NZers. They stayed at the grounds and not in hotels, the tests in India were played during the monsoons and the players were played a pittance. Therefore two test wins, one drawn series and their first series win must be considered a very good outcome.

7 v Pakistan at Lahore 1969/70 NZ won by 5 wickets

8 v Australia at Christchurch 1973/74 NZ won by 5 wickets

NZ played it's first test against Australia in 1945/46 and scored 42 and 54. Australia ignored NZ for 28 years after that claiming that NZ were not good enough to play them. NZ lost a 3 match series in Australia, 3-0 in 1973/74 but later in the same summer drew a 3-match series in NZ 1-1.

It was in the second match of this series that NZ achieved its maiden Test win over Australia. Glenn Turner (101 and 110* ) became the first New Zealander to get a century in each innings of a Test. Turner scored nearly half of NZ’s runs in the match while no other NZ batsmen got over 50. Turner also held the second innings together as NZ threatened to collapse chasing 228 for victory. Richard Collinge and the Hadlee brothers, Richard and Dayle dismissed Australia for 223 and 259 and gave NZ the chance to chase what appeared to be smallish total for victory. In the end though it required another heroic performance from Turner to secure the win. Australia won the third match to draw the series.

1975/76 to 1984/85

There were two main reasons for NZ's improved test record in this decade. The first was that Sri Lanka's started playing test cricket - NZ picked up 4 victories in Sri lanka's first few years in test cricket, when they were a weak side. The second reason was that NZ had the services of its best ever bowler, Richard Hadlee who made his debut in 1973. Hadlee played in all 13 of the victories in this decade and took 93 wickets at an average of 12.27 in those 13 matches.

9 v India at Wellington 1975/76 NZ won by an innings and 33 runs

Glenn Turner played in 7 more tests after this one before disputes with the NZ Cricket board kept him out of test cricket for 6 years. He then played in 2 victorious tests against Sri Lanka in 1982-83 before retiring aged 35.

10 v England at Wellington 1977/78 NZ won by 72 runs

It took NZ 48 tests and as many years to beat England for the first time. When England were set only 137 to win it seemed highly likely that England's unbeaten run would continue. However, when Collinge bowled Boycott with a fast inswinger the NZ players sensed an upset. Hadlee and Collinge bowling virtually unchanged, poured on the pressure and dismissed the English for 64. Collinge (3 for 35) knocked the top off the order and Hadlee (6 for 26) cleaned up the middle and the tail. Hadlee’s match figures were 10 for 100 and Collinge's were 6 for 77. The crowd realising the historical importance of this victory cheered the fall of each wicket with the same enthusiam as those present at NZ’s first test victory over 20 years ago.

In NZ’s first innings John Wright took nearly 6 hours to make 55 on his test debut. In a low scoring game his score was only bettered by Boycott who took 7 and a half hours to make 77. The English won the second test and the 3-match series was drawn 1-1.

11 v West Indies at Dunedin 1979/80 NZ won by 1 wicket

In one of the most acrimonious series of all time NZ achieved their first series win against the West Indies. The West Indies had recently beaten Australia 2-0 in a hard tour and arrived in NZ expecting to thrash the locals. As the West Indies had a side full of great players most of the NZ public expected much the same. Unfortunately for the West Indies they ran into Richard Hadlee, some dodgy umpiring and their own petulance, finally leaving NZ with a series loss and their reputations as sportsmen in tatters.

In the West Indies first innings of 140, Hadlee took 5 for 34 with 4 lbws. Although the pitch was keeping low, Don Cameron, a NZ cricket journalist, described the umpiring as "indifferent". NZ replied with 249, Bruce Edgar got 65 and Hadlee a quick 51. When umpire John Hastie gave John Parker not out Michael Holding kicked down the stumps. Parker later went on to score zero. The resulting photo is one of the most famous cricketing photos The West Indies scored 212 in their second bat and Hadlee got 6 for 68 with 3 more lbws. At the time, 12 lbws in the test were a new record. This was the first instance of a NZ player scoring 50 and taking 10 wickets in the same test. NZ needed only 104 to win but lost nine wickets getting to 100. The winning run was a leg bye.

The second and third tests were drawn but marred by more poor umpiring and some shocking behavoiur from the West Indies. Among the lowlights from the second test were:

• The West Indies refused to take the field after tea on the third day. Play finally resumed 12 minutes late.
• The West Indies players spent the final session of the third day accidentally-on-purpose conceding boundaries and dropping catches.
• After play ended on the third day the West Indies players voted to go home and held a party at their hotel to celebrate. The West Indies board ordered the players to stay.
• On the fourth day Colin Croft deliberately shoulder barged umpire Fred Goodall.
• Clive Lloyd standing unmoved at second slip, forcing the umpires to come to him to talk about Croft's behaviour.

After the tour ended the West Indies board apologised to the NZ Board, the team manager, Rodriguez was replaced, and the players had to sign a contract that had a penalty clause for bad behaviour for the Tour Of England that followed. Croft was later banned from West Indian cricket for going on a rebel tour to South Africa in 1983. Clive Lloyd as an ICC match referee, is now in a position where he has to judge the sportmanship of current players.

NZ did not lose another series at home until 1991/92. Richard Hadlee retired in 1990.

12 v India at Wellington 1980/81 NZ won by 62 runs

13 v Australia at Auckland 1981/82 NZ won by 5 wickets

14 v Sri Lanka at Christchurch 1982/83 NZ won by an innings and 25 runs

15 v Sri Lanka at Wellington 1982/83 NZ won by 6 wickets

16 v England at Leeds 1983 NZ won by 5 wickets

17 v England at Christchurch 1983/84 NZ won by an innings and 132 runs

18 v Sri Lanka at Kandy 1983/84 NZ won by 165 runs

19 v Sri Lanka at Colombo 1983/84 NZ won by an innings and 61 runs

20 v Pakistan at Auckland 1984/85 NZ won by an innings and 99 runs

21 v Pakistan at Dunedin 1984/85 NZ won by 2 wickets

1985/86 to 1994/95

Richard Hadlee played in all of the first 8 test victories of this decade, taking 73 wickets at an average of 13.53. After Hadlee's retirement in 1990, NZ won only 4 of it's next 43 tests. Hadlee's contribution to NZ test victories is matched only by that of Shane Bond. Of Hadlee's 86 Tests, New Zealand won 22 and lost 28. Hadlee missed 14 tests during his career and NZ didn't win a single one. By December 2007, of the 17 tests that Bond had played in, NZ had won 9 and lost only 2. Of the 27 tests that Bond missed, NZ won 6 and lost 13.

22 v Australia at Brisbane 1985/86 NZ won by an innings an 41 runs

Richard Hadlee's best bowling performance in an innings (9 for 52) and the 6th best in test history bundled Australia out for 179. Hadlee caught the only batsman he didn't dismiss. Hadlee followed this up with 6 for 71 in Australia's second innings giving him 15 for 123 for the match, the 10th best in test history. (June 2007) See it here on YouTube. Hadlee's targeting of Andrew Hilditch's weakness (he was a compulsive hooker) was particularly brilliant. Hilditch was caught off Hadlee's bowling at fine leg in both innings and never played for Australia again, although he did become an Australian selector.

Hadlee's haul was so extraordinary that it tends to over-shadow NZ excellent performance with the bat - NZ recorded their highest score against Australia. Martin Crowe (188), John F. Reid (108) and Hadlee (54*) were the main contributors in NZ's 553/7 dec. Crowe and Reid's 3rd wicket parnership of 224 was at the time a new record for NZ.

Australia won the second test in Sydney but NZ won the third in Perth to take the series. Peter English said in 2007 that the series was all about Hadlee. "He may not bowl at the same speed as the West Indian pace battery, but he is a master at his craft."

23 v Australia at Perth 1985/86 NZ won by 6 wickets

24 v Australia at Auckland 1985/86 NZ won by 8 wickets

25 v England at Nottingham 1986 NZ won by 8 wickets

26 v West Indies at Christchurch 1986/87 NZ won by 5 wickets

27 v India at Bombay 1988/89 NZ won 136 runs

28 v India at Christchurch 1989/90 NZ won by 10 wickets

29 v Australia at Wellington 1989/90 NZ won by 9 wickets

30 v Zimbabwe at Harare 1992/93 NZ won by 177 runs

31 v Australia at Auckland 1992/93 NZ won by 5 wickets

32 v Pakistan at Christchurch 1993/94 NZ won by 5 wickets

33 v South Africa at Johannesburg 1994/95 NZ won by 137 runs

1995/96 to 2004/05

The reason for this was decade being NZ's most productive was the 8 victories recorded against weak opposition, namely Zimbabwe and new comers Bangladesh. Zimbabwe was never a strong test side but they were severely weakened by the policies of their government. Bangladesh have yet to win a test (June 2007) against any team other than Zimbabwe. There were also 3 wins against the West Indies which had gone from the best side in the world to one of the weakest in little over a decade.

34 v Pakistan at Lahore 1996/97 NZ won by 44 runs

35 v Sri Lanka at Dunedin 1996/97 NZ won by an innings and 36 runs

36 v Sri Lanka at Hamilton 1996/97 NZ won by 120 runs

37 v Zimbabwe at Wellington 1997/98 NZ won by 10 wickets

38 v Zimbabwe at Auckland 1997/98 NZ won by an innings and 13 runs

39 v Sri Lanka at Colombo 1997/98 NZ won by 167 runs

40 v India at Wellington 1998/99 NZ won by 4 wickets

41 v England at Lord's 1999 NZ won by 9 wickets

42 v England at The Oval 1999 NZ won by 83 runs

England and NZ were tied one all going into the 4th test. England picked 4 number 11s , Andy Caddick, Alan Mullally, Phil Tufnell and Ed Giddins to go up against NZ last 4, Chris Cairns, Dion Nash, Daniel Vettori and Shane O'Conner. NZ batted first and were in deep trouble at 87 for 6 until Stephen Fleming (66*) put on 149 with the last 4 wickets, (Vettori 51 off 48 balls). Cairns took 5 for 31 in Englands First innnings of 153, the last four wickets contibuted 59. NZ were in even deeper trouble in the second innings at 39 for 6 but then Carns smashed 80 off 93 balls and put on 123 for the last four wickets. England were set 246 for victory and were well placed at 123 for 2 but then lost 8 wickets for 39 with the last four adding 15. Nash got 4 for 39.

Over 2 innings, NZ's last 4 scored 183 runs and England's 4 number 11s scored 27. Cairns got man of the match and NZ a rare series win over England.

43 v West Indies at Hamilton 1999/00 NZ won by 9 wickets

Only the fourth instance in tests of one partnership being worth more than the other 19 partnerships of their team. The West Indian opening pair, Cambell and Griffith scored 276 for the first wicket and batted for nearly the entire first day. The West Indies then lost 10 wickets for 89 runs, (Vettori 4 for 83 and Chris Cairns 3 for 73) and in the second innings were all out for 97, with Chris Cairns getting 7 for 27, his best bowling in an innings. His 10 for 100 was the only time he took 10 wickets in a test match.

Fleming, McMillian and Cairns all got fifties with all of the first 8 batsmen making a contribution in NZ's first innings of 393. NZ even managed a small first innings lead, something that looked highly unlikely when the West Indies were 282 for 1 at close of play on day one. The fact that NZ won by 9 wickets, (one of their biggest wins by wickets), was even more remarkable.

44 v West Indies at Wellington 1999/00 NZ won by an innings and 105 runs

45 v Zimbabwe at Bulawayo 2000/01 NZ won by 7 wickets

46 v Zimbabwe at Harare 2000/01 NZ won by 8 wickets

47 v Pakistan at Hamilton 2000/01 NZ won by an innings and 185 runs

48 v Bangladesh at Hamilton 2001/02 NZ won by an innings and 52 runs

49 v Bangladesh at Wellington 2001/02 NZ won by an innings and 74 runs

50 v England at Auckland 2001/02 NZ won by 83 runs

51 v West Indies at Bridgetown 2001/02 NZ won by 204 runs

52 v India at Wellington 2002/03 NZ won by 10 wickets

53 v India at Hamiliton 2002/03 NZ won by 4 wickets

This was the second occasion that part of all four innings had taken place on the same day of a Test India started the third day (the first was washed out) at 92 for 8 in their first innings, and were soon all out for 99; New Zealand were bowled out for 94; India went in and out again for 154; and by the end of the day New Zealand, chasing 160 to win, were 24 without loss and completed a four-wicket victory next morning. The other occasion was the second day of the 2000 lord’s test between England and the West Indies.

54 v South Africa at Auckland 2003/04 NZ won by 9 wickets

55 v Bangladesh at Dhaka 2004/05 NZ won by an innings and 99 runs

56 v Bangladesh at Chittagong 2004/05 NZ won by an innings and 101 runs

57 v Sri Lanka at Wellington 2004/05 NZ won by an innings and 38 runs

2005/06 to 2014/15

58 v Zimbabwe at Harare 2005/06 NZ won by an innings and 294 runs

NZ achieved it's largest ever test victory. The game was so one-sided that it was over in two days. NZ, batting first, scored 452 for 9 on day one. They were looking shaky at 113 for 5 but then Fleming got 73, McCullum 111 and Vettori 127. McCullum got his second test century off 94 balls and Vettori scored NZ's fastest test century off 82 balls. Shane Bond, batting at number 10, also got his highest test score, 41* from 38 balls.

NZ declared overnight and bowled Zimbabwe out twice on day two, only the second time this has happened in the history of test cricket, (England bowled India out for 58 and 82 at Manchester in 1952). New Zealand bowled Zimbabwe out for 59 and 99. When scores are as low as these it is common for all the bowlers to get wickets and Vettori's 4 for 28 in the second innings were the best bowling figures in the game.

On January 18, 2006 Zimbabwe Cricket announced that it was suspending it's participation in test matches because it's players were not up to test standard. With much of the cricket world clamouring for the ICC to suspend Zimbabwe's test status, it was very much a situation of "jumping before being pushed".

59 v Zimbabwe at Bulawayo 2005/06 NZ won by an innings and 46 runs

Zimbabwe won the toss but when they chose to bat first their woes continued. Shane Bond recorded his best figures in first class cricket taking 6 for 51. See it here on Youtube. Zimbabwe were 7 for 3 at one stage but recoverd somewhat to 231.

New Zealand replied with 484, with Lou Vincent making 92, Fleming 65 and Astle 128, his 11th test century.

Bond picked up 4 more wickets in Zimbabwe's second innings to get his first 10 wicket bag in first class cricket (10 for 99). Zimbabwe couldn't improve on their first innnings score and lost by an innings again but did managed to take the game into the third day.

Calls to suspend Zimbabwe from test cricket were renewed by those who believed Zimbabwe were devaluing the game and by those who wanted to punish Mugabe's regime. The NZ government had encouraged NZ cricket to call off this tour but NZ cricket refused, citing contractual obligations.

The game itself ended in farce, Chris Mpofu was run out by Brendon McCullum when Mpofu left his crease to congratulate his partner's on his half century before the ball was dead. As the incident happened at the end of a no contest and in a far away country, no aspersions were cast on McCullum's or the Black Caps' lack of sportsmanship. 3 victories later Muralitharin's run out in similar circumstances would stir up quite a hornet's nest.

60 v West Indies at Auckland 2005/06 NZ won by 27 runs

New Zealand's narrowest victory by runs. In fact, only an astounding piece of luck, some atrocious batting from the West Indies and some great bowling from Shane Bond enabled NZ to escape defeat. The West Indies were 140 for 0 chasing 290 for victory when Gayle hit a six on to the roof of the stand. The replacement ball was younger than the lost ball and started to reverse swing. Bond bowled accurately and aggressively and ripped out the middle order in a 4 wicket burst, eventually finishing with 5 for 69.

NZ's top order failed in both inninngs and NZ was in trouble at 69 for 4 in the first innings and 4 for 88 in the second. A century by Scott Styris and a fifty from Nathan Astle saved NZ from humiliation in the first innings and 74 from Brendon McCullum saved them in the second.

61 v West Indies at Wellington 2005/06 NZ won by 10 wickets

When Shane Bond, NZ's best fast bowler since Richard Hadlee, withdrew from the match 10 minutes before the start of play the West Indies must have fancied their chances of drawing level in the series. Instead James Franklin bowled full, swung the ball both ways and knocked the top of the West Indian order with 5 for 53. In reply to 192, NZ scored 372 with Peter Fulton in his second match scoring 75, Fleming got 97 and Astle 65.

In the West Indies second innings the NZ bowlers stuck to their task and kept chipping away at the demoralized West Indians finally leaving theselves only 36 runs for their fifth consecutive victory, their best ever winning streak, indeed their only winning streak of any note. For the West Indies on the other hand, this was their eighth consecutive loss, their worst losing streak in history. Rain in the third test brought both streaks to an end.

In his last visit to NZ Brian Lara's performance was symptomatic of his team's woes. He scored 5, 0, 1, 1 in the first 2 tests which were lost, before getting 83 in the 3rd test which was drawn.

62 v Sri Lanka at Christchurch 2005/06 NZ won by 5 wickets

Scorecard http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/engine/match/251485.html

Murali run out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zgvjC9WUCs

No regrets on controversial run out - Fleming http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/nzvsl/content/story/271912.html

New Zealand Test Dream Team

• 1 Glenn Turner played in 6 victories
• 2 Bert Sutcliffe played in 0 victories
• 3 Stephen Fleming played in 30 victories
• 4 Martin Crowe played in 16 victories
• 5 [[Martin Donnelly (cricketer)|

Martin Donnelly]] played in 0 victories

• 6 John Reid played in 3 victories
• 7 Chris Cairns played in 16 victories
• 8 Richard Hadlee played in 22 victories
• 9 [[Ian Smith (cricketer)|

Ian Smith]] played in 16 victories

• 10 Daniel Vettori played in 25 victories
• 11 Jack Cowie played in 0 victories

Chosen by Harry Rickets (2006)

References

• Rickets, Harry. How to catch a cricket match (2006)