New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and women's all-rounder Amelia Kerr picked up national player-of-the-year awards at a ceremony in Auckland on Thursday.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
Marcus Stoinis scored his maiden one-day century but it was not enough to give an undermanned Australia an astonishing victory in the opening match of their one-day series against New Zealand at Eden Park on Monday.
Andre Russell's 12-ball 41 headlined Kolkata Knight Riders' clinical performance as they recorded a crushing 71-run victory over Delhi Daredevils to return to winning ways in the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Monday.
A resurgent New Zealand beat England by 13 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method in a high-scoring second One-day international, marred by a late rain interruption, at The Oval on Friday to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Kane Williamson seized New Zealand's run chase by the scruff of the neck to lead his side to an improbable seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh on the final day of the first Test at the Basin Reserve on Monday.
Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Mumbai Indians to an astonishing four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Delhi on Saturday.
Corey Anderson smashed 10 sixes in his unbeaten 94 as New Zealand completed a 3-0 sweep of their Twenty20 series against Bangladesh with a 27-run win in the final match at Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
One of the biggest turning points of the July 14 final was the overthrow on the fourth ball of the final over bowled by Trent Boult.
Ben Stokes provided the gloss and Joe Root the glue as England recovered from a terrible start to reach 354 for seven at the close on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Thursday.
With 871 rating points, Virat Kohli is at the top followed by Rohit (855) and Pakistan's Babar Azam (829).
Rain disrupted almost all of the second day of the first Test between New Zealand and England on Friday, with the hosts managing to extend their lead to 171 runs before they were forced from the field for good ahead of the final session.
New Zealand ripped through England's top order to close in on a series-leveling victory as the hosts limped to 102 for five at lunch on the last day of the second and final Test on Tuesday.
New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Jamieson enjoyed a dream start to his Test career on the opening day of the first match against India as he captured three wickets and also took a catch in the deep as the tourists limped to 122-5 after rain washed out the entire post-tea session. Ajinkya Rahane was on 38 at stumps at the Basin Reserve on Friday, while the recalled Rishabh Pant was 10 not out, with the 2.03m tall Jamieson tormenting batsmen with his ability to get the ball to rear off a length.
England beat New Zealand in the World Cup final at Lord's on Sunday. The match was tied after both teams scored 241 runs. Following is how the Super Over unfolded.
Big-hitting by Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya in the last few overs earned Mumbai Indians victory over Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The Indian-born 29-year-old, New Zealand's top domestic wicket-taker in the past three seasons, replaces all-rounder Mitchell Santner who is still recovering from knee surgery.
Premier New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson showed his prowess in shortest format as his smashing innings powered Northern Knights to a convincing seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Southern Express in a rain-curtailed opening game of the Champions League T20 in Raipur.
The squad for the two Tests against India is set to be named on February 17, with the opening match starting four days later in Wellington on February 21.
New Zealand will be banking on injured pace bowlers Trent Boult (hand), Matt Henry (thumb) and Lockie Ferguson (calf) coming back into contention for the Tests
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
England found cricketing bliss by dint of divine intervention and Ben Stokes's brilliance, cracking a code that proved indecipherable for 44 years as history sliced through teary-eyed New Zealand's grasp in a final that will be remembered for ages.
Rajneesh Gupta presents Mumbai Indians's record in the IPL over the years:
Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian in former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum's all-time cricketing eleven, which is led by West Indian great Vivian Richards.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor mastered a lifeless England attack to lift New Zealand to 303 for two at the close on the second day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday.
'As you see, we have been lacking in the starts in the majority of our games, that's what we need to work on going forward, we have leaked a lot of runs in the powerplay so we need to get tighter in that aspect as well, majority of the things will be same next season.'
Captain Kane Williamson struck a composed unbeaten century as New Zealand edged past South Africa by four wickets in a thrilling last-over finish.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be missing their key all-rounder Andre Russell but skipper Gautam Gambhir wants his team to treat the Jamaican's absence as an 'opportunity in bold letters' during the upcoming Indian Premier League.
While the NZC will be updating its players about the health safety protocols and latest COVID-19 related developments, the onus will be on the six individuals to do due diligence.
Ahead of the India-New Zealand series, Rajneesh Gupta looks at the Black Caps' Test records.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils in Pune on Monday
India retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings. India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a series-winning victory at the dinner-break in the third and final Test in Adelaide on Sunday after New Zealand's pacemen captured three early wickets.
After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
Talented youngster Shai Hope smashed his way to a blistering 101 while Andre Russell scored a quickfire 54 down the order to set up a 91-run win for World Cup dark horses West Indies in their warm-up game against New Zealand.
Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo scored half centuries as West Indies battled to save the first Test against New Zealand but were still 228 runs from making the hosts bat again at the close of play on the third day in Dunedin on Thursday.
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