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England drop Moeen, Woakes for 2nd Test against NZ today

Friday, 30 March 2018


Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have been dropped by England for the second and final Test against New Zealand in Christchurch today (Friday), reports BBC Sport.
It follows the innings-and-49-run defeat in the first Test, when both players failed to take a wicket.
Moeen, who scored 0 and 28 in the match, has played England's last 43 Test matches dating back to April 2015.
Batsman James Vince, uncapped spinner Jack Leach and fast bowler Mark Wood have all come into the 12-man squad.
All-rounder Ben Stokes is unlikely to bowl in the match because of a back injury, and did not bowl at nets on Thursday.
Moeen has struggled for form recently, averaging 19.88 with the bat and taking five wickets at an average of 115 runs in the 4-0 Ashes series defeat.
"It has been a struggle for Mo, but he's a very talented lad who has done some great things in the not-too-distant past," said England captain Joe Root.
England were bowled out for 58, their sixth-lowest total in Test history, on day one of the first Test and defeat came within three days, with almost two days lost to rain in Auckland.
Squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (w), Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Mark Wood.