Kyle Jamieson suffered a back injury while touring England in June last year. He was on his way back to international cricket after 8 months. New Zealand included him in their England series squad. But the injury came back again. So the 28-year-old pacer was dropped from the team for the two Tests against England. Jamieson has been ruled out for the entire series. Another pacer Matt Henry will miss the first Test at Bay Oval. She is waiting for the birth of her first child. Jacob Duffy and Scott Kugelein have replaced them.

Duffy accompanied the New Zealand team on their tour of England. However, he still needs to receive a Test cap. He is the second-best bowler in Plunkett Shield recently with 22 wickets. Kugelin, on the other hand, took 274 first-class wickets at an average of 32.52. Both will join the team at Mt Maunganui on Tuesday before the first Test on February 16.