5 players with most runs in New Zealand vs England Tests

Test series between England and New Zealand have thrown up some of the most exciting cricket over the past decade or so.

As a matter of fact, other than the early years of the exchanges between the two sides when England dominated, the series between these two sides have almost always thrown up remarkable performances.

While bowlers have had their time in the sun, the batsmen have not been far behind either and plenty of batsmen from either side have delivered superb performances on a consistent basis.

Here is a look at five batsmen who have been the most successful in Test series between England and New Zealand over all these years.

Note: The stats have been taken from Cricinfo.com

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#5 Alec Stewart

The former England captain and wicketkeeper-batsman, Alec Stewart was one of the team’s most important batsmen for much of his career.

He held the middle-order together during the dark days of the 1990s in English cricket and remains one of the heaviest scoring batsmen in England-New Zealand Test matches.

Stewart was primarily a stroke-maker and in addition to his defensive assuredness, he was a superb player of the back-foot.

He was best known for his pulls and cuts, but he wasn’t found wanting when he had to play on the front foot either.

He played in 16 Test matches against New Zealand between 1990 and 1999 and scored an aggregate of 1145 runs, at an average of 45.80.

Stewart made four centuries and five half-centuries against New Zealand, with his highest being 173.

#4 Graham Gooch

Gooch has a highest score of 210 against the Kiwis

England has produced some of the greatest opening batsmen in Test cricket history and former captain Graham Gooch is right up there with the very best.

He was technically superb, could play all strokes in the book and could grind the opposition to dust once he was settled. Additionally, he had the gumption to bat long and score big.

He played in 15 Test matches against New Zealand between 1978 and 1994 and made 1148 runs at an excellent average of 52.18.

No one else in this list has a higher average than Gooch when it comes to Tests against New Zealand. He made four centuries and three half-centuries, with the highest score of 210.

#3 Stephen Fleming

Fleming has an aggregate of 1229 runs against England

He is regarded as one of New Zealand’s best ever captains and for a large portion of his career, Stephen Fleming was also the team’s top batsman.

He batted at several positions throughout the course of his career but it was at No.3 or No.4 where he shone for his country.

Fleming’s elegant stroke-making and decent defensive technique made him a pillar of the New Zealand batting order for most of his career.

From 1994 to 1998, Fleming played in 19 Test matches against England and is the third highest run scorer with an aggregate of 1229 runs.

However, his average of 35.11 is perhaps not a fair reflection of his gifts as a batsman. He scored two centuries and seven half-centuries and his highest score was 129.

#2 Martin Crowe

Crowe has an average of 40.6 against England

He is quite simply the greatest batsman to have ever played for New Zealand and for a major portion of the 1980s, Martin Crowe reigned as one of the world’s top batsmen.

He had the technique to play on any kind of pitch and in addition to that, he had the range of strokes that are so necessary to dominate bowlers at the highest level of the game.

Naturally, he was a prolific batsman and that extended to encounters against England as well. He played in 22 Tests against England from 1983 to 1994 and made 1421 runs at an impressive average of 40.60.

Crowe slammed four centuries and also made three half-centuries. His highest score was 143.

#1 John Wright

Wright has scored a total of 1518 runs at an average of 37.02

Now, this might come as a surprise to some but former Indian coach John Wright was one of the leading opening batsmen in the late 1970s and 1980s, who scored plenty of runs for New Zealand throughout his career.

The left-hander was technically sound, had an excellent defence and in addition to that, he had a wonderful array of strokes that helped him in keeping the bowlers honest at all times.

He played in 23 Test matches in total against New Zealand and scored a total of 1518 runs at an average of 37.02.

However, being an opener, his primary responsibility was to see off the new ball and he did that admirably. Wright made four centuries and seven half-centuries against England and had the highest score of 130.