English cricket team in New Zealand in 1977–78

The England national cricket team toured New Zealand in February and March 1978 and played a three-match Test series against the New Zealand national cricket team. The series was drawn 1–1, with New Zealand defeating England in a Test match for the first time in their history.[1][2][3]

The English team had toured Pakistan immediately before the series in New Zealand, playing three Test matches and three One Day Internationals in the country. They arrived in New Zealand in late January 1978 and played four matches against New Zealand domestic sides before the first Test of the series at Wellington in mid-February. Two more first-class matches were played between the first and second Tests, before the tour ended following the third Test at Auckland at the beginning of March.[4]

Test series

First Test

10–15 February 1978 Scorecard Wisden report

New Zealand	v	England
228 (87.6 overs) JG Wright 55 (244) CM Old 6/54 (30 overs)		215 (94.4 overs) G Boycott 77 (302) RJ Hadlee 4/74 (28 overs)
123 (44.3 overs) RW Anderson 26 (62) Extras 26 RGD Willis 5/32 (15 overs)		64 (27.3 overs) IT Botham 19 (24) RJ Hadlee 6/26 (13.3 overs)

New Zealand won by 72 runs Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: WRC Gardiner and RL Monteith

• England won the toss and chose to field
• SL Boock and JG Wright (both New Zealand) made their Test debuts
  13 February was a rest day

Second Test

24 February–1 March 1978 Scorecard Wisden report

England	v	New Zealand
418 (145.5 overs) IT Botham 103 (288) RJ Hadlee 4/147 (43 overs)		235 (92.7 overs) RW Anderson 62 (162) IT Botham 5/73 (24.7 overs)
96/4d (22 overs) IT Botham 30* (31) RO Collinge 2/29 (9 overs)		105 (27 overs) RJ Hadlee 39 (62) RGD Willis 4/14 (7 overs)

England won by 174 runs Lancaster Park, Christchurch Umpires: FR Goodall and RL Monteith

• England won the toss and chose to bat
• CT Radley (England) made his Test debut
  27 February was a rest day

Third Test

4–10 March 1978 Scorecard Wisden report

New Zealand	v	England
315 (105.6 overs) GP Howarth 122 (356) IT Botham 5/109 (34 overs)		429 (156.3 overs) CT Radley 158 (524) SL Boock 5/67 (28.3 overs)
382/8 (118 overs) GP Howarth 102 (301) G Miller 3/99 (30 overs)

Drawn Eden Park, Auckland Umpires: WRC Gardiner and JBR Hastie

• New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat
• The match was played over six days
  7 March was a rest day

Tour matches

Four matches were played before the first Test, three first-class matches against Auckland, Central Districts, and Canterbury and a 35-over List A match against Northern Districts. Following the first Test England played two more first-class matches, one against Otago and the other against a Young New Zealand side.[4] The tourists did not lose any of these matches, although the game against Central Districts ended in a tie.

27–29 January 1978	England XI	v	Auckland	Match drawn
Scorecard	210 (69.2 overs) GRJ Roope 33 IT Botham 33 MC Snedden 3/35 (14.2 overs)		182/4d (54 overs) MG Burgess 74 CM Old 2/40 (11 overs)	Eden Park, Auckland Umpires: WRC Gardiner and RL Monteith
	208/3d (62.1 overs) BC Rose 107 MC Snedden 1/31 (10 overs)		114/3 (39 overs) RJ Kasper 61* PH Edmonds 2/24 (11 overs)
Auckland won the toss and chose to field Three-day first-class match

30 January 1978	England XI 164/9 (35 overs)	v	Northern Districts 83/3 (20.3 overs)	England won via faster scoring rate
Scorecard				Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: BA Bricknell and JBR Hastie
	DW Randall 24 CW Dickeson 3/58 (7 overs)		JG Wright 24 RGD Willis 1/10 (5 overs)
Northern Districts won the toss and chose to field Only 20.3 overs were possible during the Northern Districts innings 35 over List A match

1–3 February 1978	England XI	v	Central Districts	Tie
Scorecard	296/6d (74.1 overs) MW Gatting 66 AB Jordan 3/38 (13.1 overs)		198 (52.5 overs) DR O'Sullivan 31 RGD Willis 3/45 (10 overs)	Pukekura Park, New Plymouth Umpires: David Kinsella and Steve Woodward
	104 (49.1 overs) GA Cope 20* DR O'Sullivan 5/14 (17.1 overs)		202 TB Horne 40 RGD Willis 2/13 (6 overs)
England won the toss and chose to bat Three-day first-class match

5–7 February 1978	England XI	v	Canterbury	Drawn
Scorecard	173 (75 overs) CM Old 51 RJ Hadlee 5/50 (17 overs)		144 (41.3 overs) PG Coman 51 RGD Willis 4/46 (11 overs)	Lancaster Park, Christchurch Umpires: Fred Goodall and DC Wilson
	230/4d (55 overs) IT Botham 126* SL Boock 2/50 (19 overs)		142/5 (44 overs) RJ Hadlee 56 RGD Willis 2/8 (10 overs)
Canterbury won the toss and chose to field Three-day first-class match

17–19 February 1978	Otago	v	England XI	England XI won by 6 wickets
Scorecard (subscription required)	130 (47.3 overs) CM Kirk 22* JK Lever 5/59 (16 overs)		195 (102 overs) CT Radley 44 BL Cairns 4/73 (42 overs)	Carisbrook, Dunedin Umpires: EW Dempster and NF Tapper
	146 (47.4 overs) BL Cairns 44 IT Botham 7/58 (19.4 overs)		82/4 (23.6 overs) DW Randall 28 GB Thomson 3/44 (12 overs)
Otago won the toss and chose to bat Three-day first-class match

20–22 February 1978	England XI	v	Young New Zealand	England XI won by an innings and 23 runs
Scorecard (subscription required)	310 (114.7 overs) DW Randall 104 EJ Gray 4/58 (25.7 overs)		139 (57.1 overs) BA Edgar 41 G Miller 6/71 (22.1 overs)	Temuka Oval, Temuka Umpires: AH Hart and EG Wainscott
			148 (following on) GN Edwards 28 JK Lever 4/26 (8.4 overs)
England XI won the toss and chose to bat Three-day first-class match

Gallery

• 
  Ian Botham, Wellington test
• 
  Richard Hadlee bowling. Botham at non-strikers end, Wellington
• 
  Richard Hadlee bowling and Ian Botham (non-striker), Wellington
• 
  Ian Botham batting in Wellington
• 
  Bob Willis bowling in Wellington
• 
  Bob Willis batting in Wellington
• 
  New Zealand celebrate victory in Wellington
• 
  Mike Hendrick batting in Wellington
• 
  Phil Edmonds batting in Wellington
• 
  Bob Taylor (cricketer) batting in Wellington
• 
  Geoffrey Boycott in Wellington
• 
  Boycott dismissed in Wellington
• 
  The final scoreboard from Wellington

References

1. New Zealand beats England in a cricket test for the first time, New Zealand History, Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
2. Bannister A (1979) England in Pakistan and New Zealand, 1977–78, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1979. (Available online at CricInfo. Retrieved 2024-06-15.)
3. First Test match, New Zealand v England, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1979.Available online at CricInfo. Retrieved 2024-06-15.)
4. England in New Zealand and Pakistan 1977–78, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2024-06-15. (subscription required)