England Lead Overall, but the Modern Test Rivalry Is Level
Explore 118 men’s Tests, the 8–8 record since 2015, venue splits, leading players and major England–New Zealand match records.
England lead New Zealand 55–16 across 118 men’s Tests, with 47 draws. The historical gap is substantial, but the modern contest is level: from the start of 2015 through the 2026 Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, each team won eight of their 19 Tests, with three draws.
These statistics are current through 28 September 2026. They cover men’s Tests only; ODIs, T20Is and women’s Tests are not included.
Choose a period or host country to see how the head-to-head record changes.
England–New Zealand Test Record Explorer
Complete men’s Test record
All Tests, 1930–2026
England lead by 39 wins
England have won 55 Tests to New Zealand’s 16.
Compare Every Available Split
| View | Matches | Eng–NZ–D |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 118 | 55–16–47 |
| In England | 62 | 34–8–20 |
| In New Zealand | 56 | 21–8–27 |
| Since 2015 | 19 | 8–8–3 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo head-to-head result summaries and chronological match results; men’s Tests through 28 September 2026.
England Lead the All-Time Test Record 55–16
| Setting | Matches | England–NZ wins | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall, 1930–2026 | 118 | 55–16 | 47 |
| In England | 62 | 34–8 | 20 |
| In New Zealand | 56 | 21–8 | 27 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo’s England–New Zealand result summary, including its host-country records.
England’s overall win percentage is 46.61%, compared with New Zealand’s 13.55%. Those percentages use all matches as the denominator, so the 47 draws suppress both figures. England have been especially dominant at home, winning 34 of 62 Tests there.
The venue split also shows how much more draw-prone Tests in New Zealand have historically been. Twenty-seven of 56 matches there, or 48.21%, finished without a winner. In England, 20 of 62 were drawn.
The home records are not mirror images. “In England” includes matches hosted by England regardless of the winner, while “in New Zealand” covers the Tests hosted by New Zealand. Each team has eight away wins in the matchup, but England have 21 victories in New Zealand compared with New Zealand’s eight in England.
The Record Since 2015 Is Level at 8–8
New Zealand recorded half of their 16 wins in this matchup from 2015 onwards. Across those 19 Tests, England and New Zealand won eight each and drew three, as derived from ESPNcricinfo’s chronological match-results list.
That recent period differs sharply from the complete 1930–2026 record. England lead by 39 wins overall, but neither side leads over the selected modern span.
The two latest series reinforce that balance. England won 2–1 in New Zealand in 2024–25, then New Zealand won the 2026 series in England 2–1. In the latter contest, England won at Lord’s by 115 runs before New Zealand responded with victories by 253 runs at The Oval and 160 runs at Trent Bridge. The series record identifies both contests as the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy.
The all-time figure describes the full history, but it is a poor standalone measure of current competitiveness. For a wider comparison of the modern era, see the team-by-team Test results since 2001.
Joe Root Leads the Matchup’s Run-Scorers
| Player and team | Matches | Innings | Not outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root, England | 24 | 46 | 4 |
| John Wright, New Zealand | 23 | 43 | 2 |
| Martin Crowe, New Zealand | 22 | 38 | 3 |
| Kane Williamson, New Zealand | 20 | 37 | 2 |
| Ross Taylor, New Zealand | 19 | 35 | 4 |
| Player and team | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root, England | 2,096 | 49.90 | 6 |
| John Wright, New Zealand | 1,518 | 37.02 | 4 |
| Martin Crowe, New Zealand | 1,421 | 40.60 | 5 |
| Kane Williamson, New Zealand | 1,408 | 40.22 | 5 |
| Ross Taylor, New Zealand | 1,272 | 41.03 | 3 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo’s career run table for England–New Zealand Tests.
Root is the only batter to pass 2,000 runs in the matchup. John Wright remains New Zealand’s leading scorer, although Kane Williamson finished the 2026 series only 110 runs behind him.
A batting average is runs divided by dismissals, not innings. Root’s 49.90 comes from 2,096 runs divided by 42 dismissals: 46 innings minus four not-outs. The innings and not-out totals therefore matter when comparing his aggregate with players from earlier eras.
Root’s aggregate lead does not by itself establish that every innings was more valuable than those of Wright, Crowe or Williamson. Match frequency, scoring conditions and the number of dismissals all affect the career totals and averages.
Richard Hadlee Leads With 97 Wickets
| Player and team | Matches | Balls | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hadlee, New Zealand | 21 | 5,853 | 97 |
| Stuart Broad, England | 23 | 5,012 | 94 |
| James Anderson, England | 20 | 4,240 | 84 |
| Tim Southee, New Zealand | 22 | 5,214 | 78 |
| Trent Boult, New Zealand | 14 | 3,648 | 70 |
| Player and team | Average | Strike rate | Five-fors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hadlee, New Zealand | 24.73 | 60.34 | 8 |
| Stuart Broad, England | 28.21 | 53.31 | 4 |
| James Anderson, England | 26.05 | 50.47 | 3 |
| Tim Southee, New Zealand | 36.32 | 66.84 | 4 |
| Trent Boult, New Zealand | 25.24 | 52.11 | 5 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo’s career wicket table for England–New Zealand Tests.
Hadlee’s 97 wickets are the overall record, while Broad’s 94 are the most by an England bowler. Anderson reached 84 wickets in three fewer matches than Broad, and Boult took 70 in only 14 Tests.
Bowling average and strike rate measure different things. Hadlee’s 24.73 average is 2,399 runs conceded divided by 97 wickets. His 60.34 strike rate is 5,853 balls divided by those wickets. The first measures runs conceded per wicket; the second measures balls required per wicket.
A lower figure is better for both measures. Anderson’s 50.47 strike rate is lower than Hadlee’s despite Hadlee having the better average and larger wicket aggregate. The columns should therefore not be treated as interchangeable rankings.
The Match Records Range From 26 to 615 for Nine
| Record | Holder | Figure | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest team total | New Zealand | 615/9 declared | Mount Maunganui, 2019 |
| Highest England total | England | 593/6 declared | Auckland, 1975 |
| Lowest team total | New Zealand | 26 | Auckland, 1955 |
| Lowest England total | England | 58 | Auckland, 2018 |
| Highest individual score | Wally Hammond, England | 336 not out | Auckland, 1933 |
| Highest New Zealand score | Nathan Astle | 222 | Christchurch, 2002 |
| Best innings bowling | Derek Underwood, England | 7/32 | Lord’s, 1969 |
| Best NZ innings bowling | Lance Cairns | 7/74 | Headingley, 1983 |
The team benchmarks come from the highest-total and lowest-total lists. The individual records come from the highest-score and best innings-bowling tables.
These records span very different playing conditions and scoring environments. Hammond’s 336 not out came in 1933, while Astle’s 222 came from 168 balls in a fourth-innings chase in 2002. The raw scores identify the records; they do not make the innings directly equivalent.
The range of match results is similarly wide. New Zealand’s one-run win at Wellington in 2023 is the narrowest victory by runs in the matchup, while their 423-run win at Hamilton in 2024 is the largest by runs. England’s largest run-margin victory is the 323-run Wellington result from the same 2024–25 series, according to ESPNcricinfo’s victory-margin records.