Jeetan Patel is one of a trio of New Zealanders on the England coaching staff plotting Ashes success Down Under this year but first they will be looking to take down the country they once proudly represented.

Patel, who has coached England's spin bowlers since 2019, was joined more recently by former seamer Tim Southee in the staff of their former Black Caps teammate, head coach Brendon McCullum.

They will be guiding England in three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals against New Zealand before crossing the Tasman Sea to try and wrest the Ashes urn out of the grip of the Australians.

"It's good at the moment," former spinner Patel said in Christchurch ahead of Saturday's first T20.

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