New Zealand's captain Tom Latham prepares for the second Test cricket match against England at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, participating in a training session on Thursday. — AFP

New Zealand has decided to field an unchanged team for the upcoming second Test against England, aiming to bounce back after the first match. The decision to not recall batsman Will Young or include a specialist spinner was made despite the influence of spin in the previous Test at the Basin Reserve. Following England's announcement to maintain the winning XI from Christchurch, the Black Caps have also opted to stick with the same lineup for the match starting on Friday. The home team's attack will be led by four seamers, even though spin played a crucial role in the last Test here. Australia's Nathan Lyon took 10 wickets in a 172-run victory over New Zealand in March, and England will hope for similar success from their off-spinner, Shoaib Bashir, who claimed four first-innings wickets in Christchurch.

Captain Tom Latham has justified New Zealand's choice to exclude their only spinner, Mitchell Santner, who was highly effective during the recent 3-0 series win in India. Latham anticipates that the pitch, which appears green, will favor pace but believes the team has backup options in the form of spinning all-rounders Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra if the pitch deteriorates. '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.'

Top-order batsman Will Young, who was named player of the series against India after scoring 244 runs at an average just under 50, was replaced by the returning Kane Williamson in Christchurch. Devon Conway and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell have kept their spots despite their recent lackluster performances. 'Will (Young) obviously played fantastically well in India and certainly did nothing wrong,' Latham said. 'Having someone like Kane coming back into the fold obviously speaks for itself. Youngy's a great team man and he'll be ready to go if his opportunity comes up in this series.'

Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes highlighted the competitive relationship between Joe Root and Harry Brook, who are ranked first and second respectively in the updated ICC Test batting rankings. Root maintained his top spot, while Brook moved up two places to second following his impressive 171 in Christchurch. 'They're two incredible players,' Stokes said. 'One in Joe Root who is an incredibly experienced man and then you've got Harry Brook, who's 20-odd Test matches into what's going to be an incredible international career. Those two will be fighting it out for quite a while now.'

The third and final Test is scheduled to begin in Hamilton on December 14.

New Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (capt), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.

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