New Zealand named an unchanged starting lineup for its second Test match against England, starting in Wellington on Friday.
The home side continues to field a four-man pace attack, opting to not include a specialist spinner in Mitchell Santner, who picked a 10-wicket haul during the Kiwis’ series sweep in India earlier this year.
“We have some spin options in the top seven anyway,” said captain Tom Latham, hinting that all-rounder Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra will be handed bowling responsibilities during the match.
On Wednesday, England had also named an unchanged team for the second contest of the three-match series. The Ben Stokes-led side had secured the series-opener in Christchurch by eight wickets.
New Zealand vs England Playing XI for 2nd Test
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir