New Zealand unchanged in its bid to hit back against England

New Zealand sticks with unchanged team for second Test against England, opting for pace over spin options.

New Zealand named an unchanged team on Thursday as it looks to hit back in the second Test against England, resisting the urge to recall batsman Will Young or field a specialist spinner.

A day after the visitor announced it would play the same XI that won the series-opener in Christchurch by eight wickets, the Black Caps followed suit for the match starting in Wellington on Friday.

Four seamers will spearhead the home attack despite spin being the decisive factor in the most recent Test at the Basin Reserve.

Australia’s Nathan Lyon took 10 wickets in a 172-run defeat of New Zealand in March and England will be looking for success from its own off-spinner, Shoaib Bashir, who claimed four first-innings wickets in Christchurch.

Skipper Tom Latham defended New Zealand’s decision to again overlook his squad’s lone spinner, Mitchell Santner, who was highly effective during the recent 3-0 sweep away in India.

Latham said he expected the green-looking pitch to suit pace but believes he has insurance in the form of spinning all-rounders Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra if the pitch breaks up.

“We saw last time that the wicket took a little bit of spin and that surprised us a little bit,” Latham told reporters. “But going by this surface and the First Class games played here, the balance we’ve gone in with is right for this wicket. We have some spin options in the top seven anyway.”