Moeen under fire as NZ suffer 'cruel blow'

Moeen Ali's place in the England Test team is under pressure following their heavy loss to New Zealand in Auckland.

The spin-bowling allrounder followed a disappointing Ashes series with a modest showing in the innings and 49-run hammering at Eden Park, which was his 50th Test.

England coach Trevor Bayliss says he is considering changes for the second Test starting in Christchurch on Friday and did little to give cause for optimism that Moeen will be retained.

"I'm sure he's disappointed with the way he's gone," Bayliss said.

"He had a fantastic (England) summer but this winter away I'm sure hasn't gone how he would have liked. I'm sure that will be a discussion.

"Anyone at this level who doesn't perform gets spoken about - 'do we make a change'?"

Ali scored zero and 28 to complement bowling figures of 0-59, mirroring his lack of impact in Australia. He recorded overall figures of 4-575 in the five Ashes Tests.

The only other tweaker in the tour group is uncapped left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

England's fastest bowler, Mark Wood, will also be considered.

Wood is another right-armer, the same as the four-pronged seam attack employed in Auckland.

Bayliss said they simply couldn't match the left-arm variety at New Zealand's disposal through Trent Boult and Neil Wagner.

"You've got to pick your best - I'm not sure if there's a lot of left-armers ready to go for Test cricket in England at the moment," he said.

"Anyone would love to have variety, but they've also got to be good enough.

"We've got the best squad here - I haven't heard too many people come up with who the replacements might be."

Meanwhile, New Zealand spinner Todd Astle has been ruled out of the match due to a cruelly-timed side strain and has been replaced by fellow leg-spinner Ish Sodhi.

It is a rotten stroke of luck for the 31-year-old Astle, who took 3-39 on the final day in Auckland in what was just his third Test.

But he won't be fit for the Test at his Hagley Oval home ground, much to the disappointment of coach Mike Hesson.

"Through some incredibly hard work, Todd's already overcome some injuries this summer, so for this to happen now is a cruel blow," Hesson said.

"Todd played a major role in helping us win the game at Eden Park."

Sodhi is coming off a rich vein of form in the Plunket Shield, having taken match figures of 12-62 for Northern Districts in this week's win over Wellington.

Primarily used in limited overs internationals, the most recent of Sodhi's 14 Tests was 18 months ago in India. He has taken 38 scalps at 46 in Tests.

The door has been opened by injuries to Astle and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who is sidelined by a long-term knee problem.