Following on from their recent limited overs encounters, New Zealand and England move into the Test arena with the first of three matches coming from the University Oval in Dunedin.
Sky Sports will show all three Test matches live as England continue their preparations for a bumper of summer of Ashes battles against the Australians, as well as the visit of New Zealand in May and June.
England’s record against New Zealand should boost their confidence coming into this series.
In 94 Test matches, England have won 45 times and tasted defeat on just eight occasions.
They have also won four of their last five outings against the Black Caps.
In their last Test series in New Zealand back in 2008, England edged a thrilling final game to clinch a 2-1 victory.
Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss were ruthless with the bat, while Ryan Sidebottom took eight wickets for just 130 runs as England cruised to a 121-run triumph.
The series marked the beginning of the end for Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison as a joint force, and established Jimmy Anderson as England’s new frontline paceman.
New Zealand have struggled in this format of the game in recent times.
They arrive for the first Test at Dunedin reeling from a traumatic tour of South Africa that saw three matches played, and three innings defeats recorded.
The Black Caps have won just one of their last 11 matches, but have proven they are capable of causing an upset.
Last November, they stunned Sri Lanka with a series-levelling victory in Colombo.
Ross Taylor was the star of the show, hitting 216 runs as New Zealand saw off Mahela Jayawardene’s men by 167 runs.
Taylor may well be the Black Caps’ focal point coming into this Test series after returning from a self-imposed exile.
In December, the former Durham batsman relinquished his captaincy of the team and took a break from international cricket after coach Mike Hesson recommended that he split his leadership with Brendon McCullum.
But he has now returned to training ahead of this series and will be eager to repair damaged relationships.
If he finds form with the bat, Taylor, who was New Zealand’s top run-scorer in 2012, could pose a real threat to England.
Alastair Cook’s men are anticipating another hard-fought battle in the three-Test series against New Zealand having been severely tested in the recent limited-overs encounters.
They head into the five-day format on the back of 2-1 victories in the Twenty20s and one-day internationals.
The two previous assignments being decided in the final match illustrates the competitive nature of the tour thus far and the five-day squad are expecting no different.
You can see all the action from the T20s, ODIs and Test series unfold live on Sky Sports or by listening to live commentary on BBC Radio.
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Sky Sports will provide exclusive live coverage of England’s tour of New Zealand on TV, mobile and tablet devices.
Charles Coville and Ian Ward share presenting duties throughout the series from the studios in London.
Match coverage provided by host broadcaster Sky Sport NZ, with Sky UK using their own seperate commentary feed, featuring regulars Ian Botham, David Lloyd, Michael Atherton, Nick Knight, Bob Willis, Paul Allott, plus New Zealanders Simon Doull, Craig McMillan and Mark Richardson.
If you miss any of the overnight action, there will extended highlights shown throughout the day on Sky Sports.
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England begin a packed 2013 with BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew leading the Test Match Special team to New Zealand in February and March.
Joining Aggers on commentary duty will be Simon Mann, Kevin Howells, top Kiwi commentator Bryan Waddle and ex-England batsman Ed Smith.
Summarisers include Geoff Boycott, Michael Vaughan, ex-New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney and former Kiwi fast bowlers Iain O’Brien and Simon Doull.
Commentary is available on BBC 5 live Sports Extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave and via the BBC Sport website, while there will also be regular updates on BBC Radio 5 live.
Live coverage of each day’s play will begin approximately 15-minutes before the beginning of play on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra and BBC Radio 4 LW.
TMS is also available to listen to via the BBC Sport website.
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