England include Sibley, New Zealand leave out Ferguson for Test series opener

England will hand opener, Dom Sibley, a debut in the opening Test of their tour of New Zealand. Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, on the other hand, will have to wait to make his debut for the Kiwis after being ignored in favour of Neil Wagner.

The opening Test of the high-profile series will be played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui beginning on 21st November. While the hosts have decided to persist with the tried and trusted formula, the visitors will see some untested faces stake their claim.

Sibley on the back of good form in county cricket has been preferred over Zak Crawley to open the batting alongside Rory Burns. Joe Denly will bat at No.3, allowing skipper Joe Root to move to his favoured batting position of No.4. 21-year old Ollie Pope will also play his third Test, in order to shore up a middle-order which appeared quite fragile during the Ashes. Ben Stokes and Sam Curran will be the all-rounders, with Jos Buttler donning the gloves. Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and spinner Jack Leach will be the frontline bowlers.

Hosts stick to their strength

The hosts in comparison have quite a settled line-up both in the batting and bowling department. Ferguson was heavily tipped to make his debut but will have to wait a while longer as the Kiwis persist with the trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. Mitchell Santner will be the front-line spinner with Colin de Grandhomme lending balance to the side as the fifth bowler.

There be high-stakes involved in the two-match series, as both the sides play catch-up to India who sit on top of the ICC World Test Championship standings.

New Zealand XI: Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, BJ Watling (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult.

England XI: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Denly, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad.