The New Zealand cricket team is popularly known as the Black Caps. The team played their first Test in 1930 vs England in Christchurch, and became the fifth Test nation. It took the team until 1956 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972 -1973 season vs Pakistan in Christchurch. The current captain of New Zealand Cricket team is Stephen Fleming. Stephen Fleming is the Black Caps' most successful captain, having led New Zealand to 25 Test victories more than double that of any other captain.

New Zealand Cricket Team's History

New Zealand began their journey into test cricket in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand. It took them 16 years and heaps of effort to register their first win- which came against West Indies in Eden Park in Auckland in 1956. Some of the legends attached to New Zealand are Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Chris Cairns.

New Zealand Cricket Team's Recent Performances

New Zealand's performance in the last test has not been in the least commendable with a comprehensive test series loss again South Africa. In the ODIs, though the have been faring much better. The series against West Indies ended 4-1 in their favour.

New Zealand Cricket Team's Key Players

One characteristic aspect of New Zealand team is that it comprises many bits and pieces players; this probably explains the team's better showing in one-day internationals than the tests.

Some of the players on whom the fortunes of New Zealand Cricket rests are-

Stephen Fleming-

He is captain of the side and easily the best batsman in the team. Stephan Fleming's innovative captaincy tactics have qualified him for the best test captain's contention.

Nathan Astle-

Nathan Astle has grown into a mature player. A gifted batsman, he can be extremely destructive on his day. He will enter the World Cup 2007 with lot of expectations to further New Zealand's cause in the tournament.

Shane Bond-

If injuries permit, Shane Bond can be one of New Zealand's brightest hopes to bring home the cup. The bouncy pitches of West Indies could not provide a better arena for Shane Bond to shine.

Then there is Chris Cairns, a gifted all rounder, who is subject to availability, since he has retired from test cricket and is known to carry injuires at the most inopportune moments.

All said and done, barring few senior players, New Zealand is a young side and is learning its cricket fast. They will no doubt be going to West Indies in 2007 as underdogs, but carry enough potential to launch quite a many upsets.

New Zealand Cricket Team Recent Performance
The New Zealand Cricket team has had its share of problems, especially in test cricket. One area of grave concern has been the batting: barring Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, no other batsman comes even remotely close to the label of a world class batsman. One of the probable reasons for such a deficiency could be that the domestic cricket played in New Zealand put a premium on shorter versions of the game rather than 3-day or 4-day matches. Consequently, the players keep aside proper techniques for rarer days and concentrate more on quicker ways of scoring which is the proximate need.New Zealand team gave a heartening evidence of its changing priorities in the recently concluded series against the West Indies, this had been preceded by another ODI series victory against Sri Lanka in early 2006. No doubt it was a home series and accrued all the advantages to the New Zealand Team, yet the comprehensive manner in which the victory was achieved- both in the ODIs and test matches (4-1 and 2-0 respectively) was commendable. The series was marked by brilliant forms of New Zealand's key players like Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Nathan Astle- they left even those not really given to indulging in idle imaginations, to wonder what havoc the team can cause to the top teams in the forthcoming World Cup if it plays to its potential. livescore.warofcricket.com gives information on New Zealand Cricket Team Recent Performance and other Team Profiles.