England Retains Unchanged XI for Upcoming Wellington Test Against New Zealand

Wellington, Dec 4 (NationPress) England has announced an unchanged squad for their second Test against New Zealand, which is set to commence at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on December 6. Following their triumph in the first Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, where they defeated New Zealand by eight wickets, England currently holds a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series.

This decision means that vice-captain Ollie Pope will continue to serve as England's wicketkeeper for the second Test, with left-handed batsman Jacob Bethell retaining his position at number three. Pope performed admirably behind the stumps and scored 77 runs after being moved down to the number six position.

Meanwhile, Bethell contributed significantly with a striking unbeaten fifty off just 37 balls, completing England’s chase of 104 runs in just 12.4 overs. Despite the addition of uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Ollie Robinson to the squad following the injury to Jordan Cox, who suffered a broken finger, England has chosen to stick with their successful lineup.

"They always say when you don't notice a keeper he's done a good job and Ollie certainly did that. He was brilliant last week, stepping into a role he hasn't done a lot of. Obviously he can keep and has done previously for England, but to step up at short notice like that and do the job he did was fantastic," remarked seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes to reporters.

"For him to score runs just shows his character, putting his hand up for the team without any fuss and cracking on. Moving to number six, getting such a good score for us, and contributing to a significant partnership was huge," Woakes added.

Additionally, captain Ben Stokes is expected to participate in the Wellington Test as an all-rounder, despite experiencing back issues during day four of the Christchurch match. A victory for England in Wellington would mark their first away series win in two years.

England's playing eleven includes: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Shoaib Bashir.