CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — England won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand on the first day of the first Test at Hagley Oval on Thursday.

The Black Caps come into the series after their 3-0 series win in India. They became the first team to beat India in a home series of three or more Tests.

The challenge for New Zealand now is to replicate that form in their own conditions, although captain Tom Latham says his players cannot focus on past performances.

“It’s been an amazing few weeks in India,” said Latham. “Coming here, as cliché as it may sound, is a thing of the past. It’s about coming here and focusing on the challenge that lies ahead.”

New Zealand have already gone against conventional wisdom by replacing a winning team. Ajaz Patel, who took 11 wickets in the third Test against India, is not even in the squad for the England series. And Will Young, who was player of the series in India, was dropped to allow Kane Williamson to return.

Williamson missed the India series due to injury.

New Zealand have also named Wellington fast-bowling all-rounder Nathan Smith to make his Test debut. Smith’s call-up allows New Zealand to field a four-pronged pace attack and adds depth to the batting.

England have handed a debut to 21-year-old Barbados-born left-hander Jacob Bethell, who will bat at No.3. Bethell has previously played eight one-day internationals and seven Twenty20 internationals, but only 21 first-class matches.

Bethell won his call-up when wicketkeeper Jordan Cox, about to make his Test debut, suffered a broken thumb in a training accident. Ollie Pope will now keep the wicket.

“Bethell coming in gives him the opportunity to move up the rankings rather than just kind of pushing his way down and not being able to force his way into the game,” England captain Ben Stokes said.

The series will be played for the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, which commemorates former New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe, who died in 2016 aged 53 – and England’s Graham Thorpe, who died this year aged 55.

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New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William O’Rourke.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket