New Zealand win toss and choose to bowl against England

WELLINGTON: New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second test against England at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Friday.

Both teams were unchanged from the first test, which England won by eight wickets at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

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“Obviously, a traditional surface here in Wellington so hopefully we can make first use of it,” Latham said.

“The guys have worked hard the last couple of days to focus on a couple of areas. I don’t think we’re too far away, the result may suggest that we are but we did some good stuff throughout that test match.”

England captain Ben Stokes said his side would have batted if he had won the toss.

“I was very happy with how we went about that game last week,” he said. “It was one of those real team efforts where everyone stood up at some point.”

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England have not won a test series in New Zealand since the 2007-2008 season. The third and final test takes place in Hamilton from December 14.