Tom Latham and Martin Guptill will lead strong New Zealand XIs against England next week in the back-to-back warm-up matches before the first Test.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Latham will take charge of the first match, starting next Wednesday when a pink ball will be used for the two-day floodlit fixture at Seddon Park, and opener Guptill will then take over.

The second match will revert to red ball, even though the first Test in Auckland the following week is a day-night encounter.

Key batsman Ross Taylor, who has hit two match-winning centuries in the ongoing one-day international series, has also been named for the second fixture in his home town – despite the thigh injury which may yet rule him out of the limited-overs decider in Christchurch this weekend.

New Zealand’s white-ball opener Colin Munro has announced, meanwhile, that he has decided to concentrate solely on the shorter formats.

Following the similar decisions made of late by England pair Alex Hales and Adil Rashid, Munro will sit out the remainder of the domestic first-class season – and will also therefore not feature against England in Hamilton.

The big-hitting opener said: “It would be fair to say that my focus hasn’t been on four-day cricket this season, and my passion for that format of the game isn’t what it once was.

“I’m still 100 per cent committed to playing for the Black Caps and Auckland Aces in the shorter formats and have some big goals I’d like to achieve in the next couple of years.

“Obviously, with the World Cup next year, I’d love to give myself the best chance of making that squad – and that’s where my main focus is.”

New Zealand v England in Hamilton March 14-15 (Pink-ball match): T Latham (Captain, wkt), T Blundell, C de Grandhomme, K Jamieson, S Kuggeleijn, H Nicholls, S Rance, J Raval, M Santner, N Smith, I Sodhi, G Worker.

New Zealand v England in Hamilton March 16-17 (Red-ball match): M Guptill (captain), L van Beek, T Blundell, D Bracewell, M Chapman, S Kuggeleijn, G Phillips, S Rance, T Seifert (wkt), I Sodhi, R Taylor, G Worker.