Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton to host New Zealand vs England Test series

New Zealand Cricket confirmed the venues for the three Tests against England which are set to take place later this year. They will be a part of the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship. Christchurch, Wellington, and Hamilton have been chosen as the venues for the three Tests of the series. The series will take place for a little over three weeks.

The first Test will start on the 28th of November at Hagley Oval. The second Test is scheduled to take place on the 6th of December at Basin Reserve. The last Test of the series will happen at Seddon Park on the 14th of December. It will be a good opportunity for both teams to claim crucial points in the ongoing third cycle of WTC.

New Zealand Cricket has witnessed some great moments in Test cricket in the last 4-5 years. But in the last couple of years, they have not been able to win as many matches as they would have liked in their own conditions. They lost a match to Bangladesh, and South Africa, and lost the series to Australia in the period. 

"In the past, there's often been a lot of talk in New Zealand about the popularity of Test cricket - without that translating into ticket sales or viewership numbers. The difference over the past summer, and in terms of the upcoming Tests against England, is that the interest is being converted to bums on seats and is driving record viewership numbers," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"We're looking forward to that continuing over the upcoming summer, and to welcoming the England team and their fans to the Tests, and of course all the Kiwi-based supporters as well," he added.

Before hosting England, NZ are set to tour Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India in their extensive overseas plan.