New Zealand

The New Zealand cricket team are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. Nicknamed the 'Black Caps', New Zealand became the fifth country to play Test cricket when they played their first match in 1930 against England in Christchurch. They played their first ODI in the 1972-1973 season against Pakistan in Christchurch, going on to appear in every World Cup since. The Black Caps' sole major title came in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy. 

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After playing their first Test match in 1930, it took New Zealand until 1955-1956 to record their first win, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. The emergence of Richard Hadlee in the early 1970s saw a significant improvement in New Zealand's results. Hadlee, New Zealand's all-time leading wicket-taker with 431, played 86 Tests for the Black Caps before he retired in 1990, winning 22 Test matches during that time, including a famous win against England in 1977/1978, with Hadlee taking 10 wickets in the match.

During the 1980s, Martin Crowe established himself as one of the world's finest batsmen. Crowe, going on to star alongside the likes of, Bruce Edgar, John F. Reid, Ian Smith, John Bracewell, Lance Cairns, Stephen Boock, and Ewen Chatfield, helped turn New Zealand into a team capable of being more than competitive against the other Test playing nations. 

The introduction of ODIs gave the Kiwis a chance to further test themselves on the international stage, reaching the semi-finals in the first two World Cups. The Black Caps have reached the semi-final stages in six World Cups. In Twenty20 cricket, New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams in the world, reaching the super-eight stage in all four T20 World Cups, including a semi-final appearance in 2007. 

The current Test, ODI and Twenty20 captain is Brendon McCullum. McCullum replaced Ross Taylor who had replaced Daniel Vettori at the end of the 2011 World Cup. New Zealand's most successful captain, Stephen Fleming, led New Zealand to 28 Test victories during his reign, more than twice as many wins as any other New Zealand captain. Fleming holds the record as New Zealand's leading run scorer with 7172 and most catches with 172, also holding the record for most Tests as captain. The most capped Kiwi of all time is Daniel Vettori.  

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