England National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bowl first against England in the opening T20 International at Hagley Oval on Saturday, October 18, 2025. The three-match series provides New Zealand a chance to get their T20 World Cup preparations back on track after a 2-0 home series loss to Australia earlier this month.

White-ball captain Mitchell Santner returns from abdominal surgery to lead the side. Rachin Ravindra also makes a comeback after missing the series against Australia due to a facial injury. England will be led by Harry Brook, who missed the T20Is in Ireland after guiding his team to a 1-1 draw in a rain-affected series against South Africa at home.

The two teams last met in T20Is more than two years ago, when New Zealand won by six wickets to draw a four-match series 2-2.

Playing XIsNew Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (capt), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood