Uncapped Livingstone included in England Test squad for New Zealand tour

England have named a 16-man squad for their two match Test series in New Zealand in March, with Liam Livingstone called up to the Test side for the first time.

The 24-year-old Lancashire batsman, who made his T20I debut for England against South Africa in June 2017, has been rewarded for strong performances with the England Lions, coming into the squad alongside seamer Mark Wood, who did not feature in the squad that succumbed to a 4-0 Ashes series defeat in Australia.

Dropped from the squad after the Ashes defeat are Gary Ballance, Jake Ball and Tom Curran, while Ben Stokes has been included in the 16-man selection, subject to the results of a police investigation relating to the Bristol nightclub incident in September.

Commenting on the selection of Livingstone, National Selector James Whitaker said: "He is a very talented and tough cricketer who has the ideal qualities and character to be successful in the Test arena."

"During the recent Lions tour of Australia, he was a standout performer and showed a lot of maturity in his attitude and put in some strong performances. We are particularly impressed with the way he bats against spin and is equally adept against the seamers."

Set to captain Lancashire in the 2018 County Championship, Livingstone has a first class average of 48.75, his top score of 224 coming against Warwickshire in August 2017.

England, who sit a place below the Blackcaps in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings, are set to play a Day/Night Test in Auckland from 22-26 March, followed by the series closer at Hagley Oval, Christchurch from 30 March - 3 April.

**Squad:**Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Ben Foakes, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood