The
New Zealand cricket team are called “
The Black Caps”; in 1998 it was named after one of their sponsors that had organised a competition to name the team. The history of The
Black Caps is not old when compared with other teams like the English; New Zealand played its first test match in 1929-30 against England;
the Black Caps were only the fifth team in the world to become a test nation. The first win of the cricket team was in 1955-56 against the West Indies; in total (up until July 2008) the team has won a staggering 339 test matches. Currently they are in 7th place on the
official cricket world ranking. New Zealand has been a consistent performer in the one-day game, reaching the semi-final stage in five of the nine
World Cup tournaments held since 1975. Cricket is just one of the many sports New Zealanders follow very passionately.