Tourists begin first match of a two-Test series on Wednesday with a new batting order and their fastest bowler in yearsAcross the Tasman from Australia, where their captain, Tim Paine, has recently accused
England players of using stories about David Warner’s Ashes verbals last summer to boost book sales, a Test series gets under way between two sides who could seldom get on better.
England and
New Zealand have enjoyed strong bonds for a good while now – long before their shared experience of the
World Cup final’s freakish conclusion – and so there is little fear that the first Test to be played at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday evening will turn into a sledging soap opera.