England's bowlers failed to impress as the two-day tour match against a New Zealand XI ended in a draw.

 

After reaching 285-3 on day one, the tourists finally declared on 376-5 at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei.

England have picked Sam Curran ahead of fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes for the opening Test in New Zealand.

 

It has also been confirmed Dom Sibley, 24, will open the batting on his debut.

 

Joe Denly, who opened in the final two Ashes Tests, has recovered from injury and will bat at three, with captain Joe Root moving to his preferred position of four and Ollie Pope recalled to bat at six in his third Test.

South Africa have named six uncapped players in their squad for the first two Tests of the home series against England.

 

Batsmen Pieter Malan and Rassie van der Dussen have been included, as well as bowlers Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks.

 

All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius and wicketkeeper Rudi Second have also made the squad.

 

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Peter Siddle has announced his retirement from international cricket.

The England and Wales Cricket Board "cautiously" supports four-day Tests as a possible way of easing the strain on players and the international schedule.

 

The International Cricket Council will consider the Test calendar beyond 2023 in January with a one-day reduction in match length likely to be discussed.

 

"We're definite proponents of the four-day Test concept but cautiously so," said an ECB spokesperson.

 

The ECB added it may help "complex scheduling" and "player workloads".