New Zealand v England: Chances available for Test places - Trevor Bayliss

England appealImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

England were unable to force victory on the final evening in Christchurch

England could make a number of changes to their Test team this summer if others can stake their claim, says head coach Trevor Bayliss.

Joe Root's side drew the second Test in New Zealand to lose the series 1-0, on the back of a 4-0 Ashes defeat.

County players will get their chance to impress when the domestic season gets under way on 13 April, with England's first Test against Pakistan on 24 May.

"Those early matches back home, I think, will mean a lot," Bayliss said.

"There are chances available - if you're scoring a lot of runs and taking a lot of wickets, you're going to be very close.

"(But) I don't think there's anyone at home putting their hand up at the moment and saying come and pick me."

England lost the Ashes 4-0 at the start of the winter and were bowled out for 58 as they lost the first Test against New Zealand.

England sent down 104.4 overs on the final day of the second Test as they tried to force a victory against Kane Williamson's men.

However, Ish Sodhi batted for more than three hours and Neil Wagner's seven runs came from 103 balls as the two held England off.

"It was frustrating. This week is a big building block for us moving forward," captain Joe Root told Test Match Special.

"I think there's a lot of evidence there is a bit of change in the way we've gone about things in this game. I'm sure there'll be more of that moving forward."

Questions remain over top order

Bayliss added that batsmen Mark Stoneman and James Vince had "shown what they are capable of" in the Test at Christchurch.

Opener Stoneman made 60 and Vince hit 76 in England's second innings but there are still questions over their places at the top of the order.

Alastair Cook also had a difficult winter. He scored 23 runs in four innings against New Zealand and passed 50 just once over the winter - but he converted that into an unbeaten 244 in Melbourne.

"England will leave New Zealand with as many questions as they had when they arrived, which is disappointing," ex-England spinner Graeme Swann told TMS.

"Reading between the lines, I think they're going to continue with Vince, but they're not convinced about Stoneman.

"If I were a young player in the country like Nick Gubbins or Haseeb Hameed, I'd be thinking I can get in."

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In the seven Tests England played in Australia and New Zealand, Stuart Broad and James Anderson took a combined 47 wickets at 29.82

The other bowlers took a combined 34 wickets at an average of 72.85.

England tried more short-pitched bowling during the second Test, using Mark Wood as an enforcer to try and unsettle the batsmen.

"We had plenty of options out there and I think that's really promising for us," Root added.

"The more we can harness that and take that forward, the better side we'll be away from home for it."

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