Cricket plays its part in New Zealand’s sporting folklore

New Zealand may have produced some of the most celebrated rugby sides of all time but it’s not the only sport with deep roots in the country.

New Zealand’s cricket team cannot lay claim to as many accolades as their compatriot All Blacks – who host the British & Irish Lions in 2017.

But having cultivated cricket stars such as Sir Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming and current captain Brendon McCullum, the country is a true hotbed of cricket.

And the Land of the Long White Cloud continues be one of the world’s premier sporting venues as the ICC Cricket World Cup, jointly hosted with Australia, gets underway on February 14.

The competition will visit places including Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland – all venues of historic British & Irish Lions clashes in the past.

And if you fancy venturing out to where it all began for the Black Caps, Nelson, a city at the head of the South Island, is thought to have hosted the earliest known cricket match in the country in 1844.