Hesson believes that wrist spinners from both teams hold the key in the series.
Stead reckons there are few areas that need to be addressed, but he’s happy with the balance of the squad.
The recalled Doug Bracewell and debutant Scott Kuggeleijn starred with bat and ball for New Zealand to beat Sri Lanka by 35 runs in the one-off Twenty20 match in Auckland on Friday.
England lead the table with 126 points while India are currently placed second with 121 points.
Players from both Sri Lanka and New Zealand made gains in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings. New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson have moved up in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings after creditable performances during a 3-0 sweep over Sri Lanka in a home series that ended on...
As 2018 drew to a close, New Zealand were ranked third in Tests and ODIs.
New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson delivered a top performance returning figures of 6 for 7 in Super Smash T20 while turning out for Canterbury against Auckland on Tuesday.
From the Test squad that toured the UAE, Will Somerville, Ish Sodhi and Tom Blundell miss out.
Williamson described a tension-packed narrow four-run win over Pakistan in the first match on Monday a "good advertisement for Test cricket."
Pakistan lost their final seven wickets for just 41.