
Nick Compton has been given the chance to press his claims to continue as a Test match opener for England in Wednesday's warm-up match.
Compton was named to open alongside Alastair Cook against a New Zealand XI, with Joe Root still down at number six, in a team also notable for the absence of rested frontline pace pair James Anderson and Steven Finn.
Graham Onions and Chris Woakes could therefore both put their name forward as a possible third seamer for the Test series, a position currently occupied by Stuart Broad.
Compton, meanwhile, was set to have an immediate opportunity to prove his credentials after England lost the toss and were put in on a glorious morning at the Queenstown Events Centre ground.
Update:
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