New Zealand v England Test Match Series

Squad
Stokes ©
Crawley
Duckett
Pope
Root
Brook
Cox
Bethell
Woakes
Atkinson
Carse
Potts
Stone
Ahmed
Leach
Bashir

1st Test Christchurch Nov 28th - Dec 2nd
2nd Test Wellington 6 - 10 Dec
3rd Test Hamilton 14 - 18 Dec

Can think of a few batsmen who have had very good county seasons with good reason to feel rather disappointed not to be selected.

Whilst the selectors under this regime have unearthed some talent, equally there has been players overlooked. They seem to more & more pick on potential & character, gone are the days that those with the most runs, wickets or best averages, & to an extent I agree.
With Smith unavailable is Cox the 2nd best wicket keeper, that remains to be seen, he hasn't done in for 15 months due to a finger injury, he has however scored runs. Bethell on the other hand has a modest first class record. To be fair he was a name that popped into my head when I was thinking of dropping Pope, & we are short of left handers, From what I have seen he has the temperament & talent to play all formats, however he is there as cover & Pope will play all 3 Tests I believe.
3 spinners seem one too many for New Zealand, but it gives them flexibility & variety.