The series was part of a longer tour which began in September 1954 and included a match in Colombo against Ceylon and a full tour of Australia during which the England team retained The Ashes, their first series win in Australia for 22 years.
[1][2] The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and the English team played under the name MCC in non-Test matches.
[5] It was four runs less than the previous lowest score in Test matches made by South Africa against England in 1896 and 1924 and beat New Zealand's previous lowest Test score of 42 made against Australia in 1946.
[6][7] Despite being played on slow pitches which made scoring difficult,[3] the matches on the tour were well attended.
[4] The first match the England side played in New Zealand was against Canterbury at Lancaster Park, Christchurch.