New Zealand vs England, 1st T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

18:30 Local Time, 05:30 GMT, 11:00 IST: We're in Christchurch as the New Zealand square up against England in the first of a 3-match T20I series, it'll be followed by 3 ODIs before England set their sights on the Ashes. New Zealand also have a busy home summer as they welcome the West Indies for a full series in November-December. First things first, the forecast isn't the greatest for today with light showers expected during the course of the match, but it's dry for now and we'll hopefully have a prompt start. With the 2026 T20 World Cup not far away, both teams will start their preparations earnestly. A couple of rested players apart - England have named their best available XI for today's encounter. Their home T20 summer was mixed - they did beat Ireland comprehensively, but only managed a 1-1 series draw against South Africa - this series is England's last possible chance to find their best squad and it'll not be a surprise if they do rotate players around. On the other hand, the hosts were trounced 2-0 in the recently concluded Chappell-Hadlee series by Australia and need to get back to winning ways. They do have plenty of games and time to settle on their best combination, but a winning start will be a priority.

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook(c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood

Squads:

New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert(w), Tim Robinson, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Mark Chapman, Zakary Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs

England Squad: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook(c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Jamie Overton, Zak Crawley, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker