Who are Ben Wheeler and Mitchell Santner?

Ben Wheeler, left, and Mitchell Santner have both impressed for the New Zealand XI. Photo / Getty Images

The old Somerset county town of Taunton is about as relaxed a destination as you can find to start a tour of England. So relaxed in fact that several including skipper Brendon McCullum, vice-captain elect Kane Williamson and new-ball bowlers Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry have bypassed it for the glitz and glamour of the Indian Premier League.

That situation is largely unavoidable, if unsettling, but it has had a positive spin-off, giving a low-key international introduction to the likes of Jacob Duffy, Ben Wheeler and Mitchell Santner. The latter two even had the impertinence to show up the actual test squad members. The IPLers roll in ahead of the first test at Lord's starting May 21.

So who are Wheeler and Santner?

BEN WHEELER
Age: 23
Team: Central Districts
Style: Left-arm pace bowler
One of a clutch of promising CD quicks, including Doug Bracewell, Adam Milne and Bevan Small, big things have been expected of Blenheim's Wheeler since he made the New Zealand under-19 team in 2010.

A variety of injuries have stalled his progress over the years, but when he's on the park, Wheeler has showed himself to be capable of swinging the new ball and reversing the old one, qualities that usually lead to higher honours.

His 5-18 in the first innings against Somerset has lifted his first-class wicket haul to 91 at a tick under 27, and he has one scalp in the second dig, with New Zealand needing four more for victory.

An old boy of Marlborough Boys' College, Wheeler's older brother Joe was also a promising cricketer but chose rugby as his career path. He is a lock for the highlanders and recently became famous for having a Japanese halfback as a pet.

MITCHELL SANTNER
Age: 23
Team: Northern Districts
Style: Allrounder - left-hand bat and orthodox left-arm spin
You could hardly say the southpaw set the world on fire in last season's Plunket Shield. In the second half of the season, following the Ford Trophy, he scored 419 runs at 32.2, with one century and two fifties. His eight wickets came at 75.9 each. Those batting numbers are slightly up on his career stats and his bowling numbers average is about 20 runs worse.

Santner was picked for this tour as to blood him in one-day and Twenty20 cricket, where his versatile batting and economic left-arm spin will be put to the test. The IPL has given him an opportunity to air out the whites as well.

Santner has used the opportunity to rack up a 27, 94 double in difficult conditions at Taunton batting at No 3, automatically raining expectations that he is more than a novelty selection.

Santner is studying mechanical engineering at Waikato University and is a product of the sporting talent factory that is Hamilton Boys' High School. Santner, who broke through to the Northern Districts sides on the back of his bowling, only took up the spin bowling game late. Until his fifth form year he had fancied himself as a left-arm paceman.

His younger brother, Elliot, is also making his way through the ranks as right-arm legspinning allrounder.