Brendan McCullum has defended the state of the Test match pitches in New Zealand following criticism from England bowling coach David Saker.

The Australian said that the slow tracks in Dunedin and Wellington have been detrimental to the quality of play so far in the three-match series.

He believes that the set up for the limited-overs games were more conducive to exciting action for the spectators.

However, the Kiwi captain has defended the pitches, stating that they have been prepared for "grinding" five-day matches.

"They're not three or four-day Test match wickets, they're five-day grinding wickets which you have to work incredibly hard [on] for your fruits," McCullum told reporters.

"I don't see anything wrong with them. They've been pretty good and they've certainly allowed both teams to have periods of dominance throughout the Test match series so far."

The series is currently locked at 0-0 with one match remaining in Auckland.