The three-match T20I series between New Zealand and England ended in the favour of English side by a 1-0 margin after two matches were washed out due to rain. Now these two sides will take on each other in three ODIs, starting on Sunday, October 26. The first game is scheduled to be played at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. Just like the T20I series, the ODI series promises to be high-profile action.
The three-match T20I series between New Zealand and England saw rain doing major damage. There was one complete game, which England won. Now, these sides have three ODIs between them. The first game will be held at Bay Oval on Sunday, starting at 6:30 AM IST. Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, and others will be back for England, strengthening their side more. For New Zealand, Kane Williamson is back in the ODI side for the first time since ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Mitchell Santner and his men have a lot to work on. They have to work on their bowling plans, as Kyle Jamieson has been ruled out and they have to find someone ideal. Kane Williamson will add experience to the batting unit. But England will also welcome Joe Root, Ben Duckett, and Jamie Smith. with Jofra Archer in the bowling department.
NZ vs ENG : Previous Performances
The T20I leg of the tour went in favour of England, as they won the three-match series by 1-0, with a couple of games ending in no result due to rains in Christchurch and Auckland for the first and third T20I, respectively.
New Zealand have been in great form in One-Day Internationals of late. They recently whitewashed Pakistan in the three-match series, and also emerged as the runners-up at the 2025 Champions Trophy — a tournament where they remained unbeaten throughout before losing to India in the finals in Dubai. They will aim to maintain the same form, with Kane Williamson also returning to the fore.
England, on the other hand, lost their previous 50-over series against South Africa at home by 1-2, but had whitewashed West Indies in the one before the home series. The Harry Brook-led side will be confident to put up a show in the upcoming encounter at the Bay Oval. However, their lack of experience in their bowling attack could be a point of concern throughout the series, a thing they must be wary of.
NZ vs ENG : Head to Head
A total of 96 ODIs have been played between these two sides so far. The head-to-head scoreline is very tight, as both teams have won 45 games each. Four games were washed out due to rain and two ended in a tie.
| Matches Played | 96 |
| NZ Won | 45 |
| ENG Won | 44 |
| Tied / No Results | 7 |
| First-ever fixture | July 20, 1973 (No Result) |
| Most-recent fixture | October 5, 2023 (NZ Won) |
NZ vs ENG : Pitch and Weather Report
The Bay Oval, situated in Mount Maunganui is among the latest international venues in New Zealand, and has hosted 12 ODI matches since its first in 2014. Out of these 12 matches, six have been won by the team batting first, whereas, teams chasing the target have won as many games. Teams scoring above 300 in the first innings have never lost a game at this venue, and naturally enough, that should be the mindset if the team opts to bat first after winning the toss here.
Bay Oval has been a good venue for the batting side. It has a green top, which generally helps the fast bowlers for swing and seam movement, and weather conditions also play their part. Spinners don’t have much to bowl with. Generally, teams that have chased here have won more games.
The weather warnings that wrecked the Auckland T20I have abated, although the strong winds remain a factor. The ground record is New Zealand’s hefty 371 for 7 against Sri Lanka in 2019, so if the conditions permit, runs will surely flow.The weather forecast for Sunday in Mount Maunganui is likely to be cloudy with a maximum temperature of 19°C in the afternoon. The humidity index is expected to be around 45-55 percent.
NZ vs ENG : Big Picture : Context or continuity would be the qusestion for New Zealand and England.
The great gathering continues apace. First it was Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell and Brydon Carse – with Zak Crawley lurking on the fringes to soak up the vibes and sort the tee-off times. Then, by degrees, other key combatants have flown in, with New Zealand performing the role of an Orwellian airstrip, anchored ominously off the East Coast of Australia.
Gus Atkinson has been in New Zealand for a week; Mark Wood and Josh Tongue arrived on Thursday, also in non-playing capacities. Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith are all in line for their first hits of the winter in this week’s ODIs, and Jofra Archer – at some stage – his first bowl. For yes, in theory, a bilateral series between England and New Zealand is about to get underway. In practice, the Ashes phoney-war-by-proxy is about to be ramped up another notch or three.
The early-season conditions didn’t allow many conclusions to be drawn from 61.4 overs of T20I action, but there was purpose to the three matches just gone – coming as they do just months before the next T20 World Cup. When it comes to ODI cricket, however, it’s harder to pretend that it’s a massive priority for either team right now.
Kane Williamson’s return provides the local intrigue and, as many of New Zealand’s players have been saying in recent days, the chance to play a Big Three opponent offers a degree of context in its own right. But let’s face it, if we thought Bethell’s 39 runs from 25 balls in te T20Is offered Ashes pointers, it’s nothing compared to the frenzied hot takes that Root and Co. could find themselves generating this week.
Of course, the spring rains may continue to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm. But England’s main focus across the past fortnight has very much been on mental preparation. There are longer-term issues that need to be addressed with the next ODI World Cup now two years away, and for the seam bowlers in particular, there’s a real opportunity to lay down a few markers.
But overall, the squad’s relaxed vibe has befitted a laid-back location, and a sense that this week is a consequences-free chance to get some game-time and continue to build towards significantly more intense challenges.
This was, after all, one of the rationales for McCullum taking on the white-ball coaching role back at start of the year. The unification of philosophies across squads means there are no competing agendas pulling the players one way or the other – just a collective sense of purpose at the start of a seminal winter, and a recognition that some big pictures are significantly bigger than others.
NZ vs ENG : In the Spotlight : Ben Duckett and Kane Williamson
It’s not so long ago that Ben Duckett was being touted as the most complete all-formats batter in the world. But then, the very fact of his ubiquity became too much of a burden. After an exhausting Test series against India, a grim run of form in the Hundred contributed to his absence from the T20Is against South Africa in which Jos Buttler and Phil Salt laid an insurmountable claim to the openers’ roles, and by the end of the ODI leg he was visibly shot to bits.
Now he’s back after some much-needed R&R – newly married and hopefully rested up. Mount Maunganui and Perth are worlds apart, of course. But England will need him to rediscover that dynamism across formats as the Ashes draw nigh.
Kane Williamson is not the most demonstrative of blokes at the best of times. But he knows a career inflection point when he sees one. It’s been nearly eight months since his last match for New Zealand – their loss to India in the Champions Trophy final – and, at the age of 35, he’s conscious of the march of time, as he returns to a set-up with a new coach in Rob Walter, and with the next ODI World Cup still a full two years away.
With a young family to consider, and lucrative offers such as this year’s London Spirit/Middlesex tie-in very much on the table for the autumn of his career, these three games may go some way to determining his continued hunger after 15 years as a Black Cap.
NZ vs ENG : Vital Stats that matters
- New Zealand have played 11 ODIs at Bay Oval since 2014, winning six – including each of their last three – and losing five.
- However, England won these teams’ only previous meeting at the venue, by six wickets in 2018, despite a certain Mitchell Santner producing the day’s stand-out innings, 63 not out from 52 balls.
- Adil Rashid, who also played in that fixture, needs three more wickets to overtake Darren Gough (234) asEngland’s second -most prolific ODI bowler behind James Anderson (269).
- Matt Henry has taken 24 wickets in nine ODI appearances so far this year
- Kane Williamson averages 54.61 across 20 previous ODI outings against England
- Joe Root has passed 30 in eight of his last nine ODI innings
- Root has made three ODI centuries already this year and averages 70.81 in 2025
- The only previous ODI between these two teams at Mount Maunganui ended in a six-wicket England win in 2018.
NZ vs ENG : Team News for New Zealand and England
New Zealand :
Kyle Jamieson has been ruled out of the series after suffering stiffness in his side, but New Zealand welcome back a core of senior players who have not featured in the ODI set-up since the Champions Trophy – the captain Santner, Tom Latham and Williamson among them.
New Zealand Probable Playing XI : Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry
England :
Smith, Duckett and Root return to action for the first time this winter, with one eye very much on the first Test at Perth in less than a month’s time. Sam Curran will get a chance to cement his allrounder role, while Luke Wood could get a run in the side with England’s 50-overs seam attack still very much a work in progress. Jofra Archer is fit but unavailable for the first match, as England look to manage his workload ahead of the Ashes. Will Jacks is still absent with a finger injury.
England Probable Playing XI :Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Sam Curran, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, Luke Wood
NZ vs ENG : Probable Best Performers of the Match
Probable Best Batter — Joe Root
Joe Root is a name that needs no introduction. The ace batter has thrived at No. 3 position for England over a decade now, and is also the highest run-getter for the Three Lions in the format. His ability to find gaps straightaway and playing ground shots and yet scoring at a quick rate make him a lethal batter to bowl to. The Yorkshire cricketer is expected to be at his very best against the New Zealanders.
Probable Best Bowler — Mitchell Santner
The BlackCaps skipper Mitchell Santner, a left-arm orthodox spinner, has made a reputation for himself to thrive on pitches that offer very negligible assistance to spin. While he isn’t a huge turner of the cricket ball, his variations with speed and generating extra bounce with his height make him a very unpredictable bowler for the opposition. He is expected to be among the wickets once again, especially if the Kiwis are to defend a total.
NZ vs ENG : Match Prediction
New Zealand will surely have the edge of the home conditions. They know these conditions here and can plan accordingly. Williamson, Conway, and Young will give more options with the bat. The problem is the approach of England with the bat. They will come hard, and that can dismantle the bowling plans of New Zealand.
England go with the high-risk approach, which also has chances of failing, but they have good players like Root and Buttler who can handle the team in case of collapse. That is why England are likely to start the first game as favorites. England have a very strong batting unit, and most of the players are in good form. That is why we predict England to win the first ODI.
Also Read:NZ vs ENG: Run Feast On Cards As England Take On Mighty Kiwis