LONDON: New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat in the first match of the two-test series against England at Lord's on Wednesday.

"There's always a few things to consider here, looks like a reasonable surface so it's important we put our plans in place first up," New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said.

"We've gone with (spinner Mitchell) Santner and (Colin) de Grandhomme as two all-round options. We know how strong this England side is. It's about trying to stick to our plans as best we can."

England captain Joe Root said he would have opted to bat as well but hoped to take advantage of the green wicket with four fast bowlers in his side.

"We've got an opportunity to make the use of some fresh green grass on the top of that wicket," Root said.

"To have a crowd in is really special for everyone involved, the sun's out as well ... really looking forward to it."

England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (captain), Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, James Bracey (wicketkeeper), Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner (Reporting by Rohith Nair Editing by Christian Radnedge)