New Zealand v Pakistan, II test, Hamilton - Preview

Dean Brownlie, whose last Test was in 2013, was recalled as cover for Ross Taylor after a growth was detected in his left eye. However, the 77-Test veteran was cleared to play in Hamilton late on Wednesday, although he will undergo surgery afterwards.

Taylor said although the growth did not affect his sight it was distracting mentally "when you play and miss the first couple of balls”. After consulting a range of optometrists and specialists, he was confident an operation would clear up the issue. "In any operation there's a chance things won't go as well as possible but the surgeon I talked to last night was pretty confident," he said.

Taylor revealed the growth had been present for more than five years but had worsened in the past year. "In all the Tests I still had very good vision, It's just I guess the growth has come across," he said. "The only thing you can really do is wear sunglasses and put eyedrops in."

Both sides head to Australia after the Test, where New Zealand will play three ODIs and Pakistan three Tests as well as a series of limited-over matches.

Teams (from):
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Dean Brownlie, Doug Bracewell.

**Pakistan:**Azhar Ali (capt), Sami Aslam, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan.