Joe Root confirms he will bat at No.4 for England in New Zealand

Root, who has flitted between three and four at various times over the past two years, is well known to favour the middle order over first drop and will take his preferred position in the two matches against the Blackcaps

England captain Joe Root will bat at No.4 during the Test series against New Zealand.

Root, who has flitted between three and four at various times over the past two years, is well known to favour the middle order over first drop and will take his preferred position in the two matches against the Blackcaps.

The skipper averages 48.39 at No.4 over the course of his Test career, as compared to 38.12 at three.

“I’d like to be consistent with it now, moving forward,” he told the BBC’s Test Match Special. “It doesn’t always work exactly how you want it to but it would be nice for that to be the case.

“I just think it suits my game a little bit more. It definitely fits in with captaincy a little bit better for me.

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“I know previous captains have preferred to get out there early and just get amongst it but I quite like to split the two and to really focus on my batting.

“I’ve found over time that, generally, I’ve consistently played better in that position.”

Root's decision means Joe Denly is likely to switch to three in New Zealand, presuming he is fully over his ankle problem. The Kent batsman occupied an opener's berth during the latter stages of the Ashes, having batted at four earlier in the campaign.

England's preparations for next week's first Test continue on Friday, when they face New Zealand A in a three-day first-class warm-up.

The major selection issue for the tourists is whether to pick Sam Curran or Chris Woakes as the seaming allrounder.

The Test series is due to begin at Mount Maunganui on Thursday, November 21 (Wednesday night, November 20 GMT).

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