England captain Joe Root will drop down the batting order to No4 for the Test series against New Zealand and beyond.
Root was used third in the order for this summer’s Ashes series, a position he admitted he was far from comfortable in, which was reflected in an average of 32.5 runs by England’s leading batsman.
Having pushed his case for a move down, England will open with Rory Burns and debutant Dom Sibley while Joe Denly, who has recovered from an ankle injury, will bat at No3 with Root fourth.
“I’d like to be consistent with it now moving forward,” Root told the BBC. “It doesn’t always work exactly how you want it but it would be nice for that to be the case.
"I just think it suits my game a little bit more. It definitely fits in with my captaincy a little bit better for me.
“I know previous captains have preferred to get out there early and just get amongst it but I quite like to split the two and to really focus on my batting.
"I’ve found over time that, generally, I’ve consistently played better in that position.”
England have one final chance to test out their order in Whangarei on Friday against New Zealand A over the course of a three-day match.
The one selection dilemma remains the final second all-rounder spot in the side between Chris Woakes and Sam Curran, with whoever is picked on Friday set to feature in the opening Test next week in Mount Maunganui.
But Root insisted England could yet chop and change from their touring team this week. He said: “We haven’t officially picked a team yet [for Friday’s match].
"As you’d expect, the majority of that will go and play the first Test match.”
