NZ coach: Aggressive England changing face of Test cricket

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) New Zealand coach Gary Stead believes England’s attacking brand of cricket will redefine the Test format of the game as the Black Caps prepare for their two-Test series in Pakistan.

“There is no doubt that they (England) are changing the face of Test cricket a little bit,” Stead said on Friday after his team’s first practice session at the National Stadium in the southern port city of Karachi. All the teams are thinking a little bit about England’s game and the success of the past year.

Led by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England beat Pakistan 3-0 this month with baseball-aggressive cricket in their first tour of the country in 17 years.

It was England’s ninth win in the last 10 Tests since Stokes replaced Joe Root and McCullum was appointed coach.

It’s exciting for them and I think it’s exciting in Test cricket,” Stead said. Even though they won 3-0 (against Pakistan), it was still a very, very tight series throughout and I expect our series here to be similar.

England’s fearless approach to scoring at a fast pace saw the team post a record of 506-4 on the opening day of the first Test. England wrapped up the series with an emphatic eight-wicket win in Karachi in four days.

“There is no doubt that T20 cricket has accelerated scoring in general,” Stead said. Now most cricketers have the ability to score at a much faster rate. For me, it’s still about finding your own tempo, your own style of play that suits your players best.

England’s batting, led by Harry Brooks’ three centuries in three Tests, played a key role in the teams’ clean sweep, with Pakistan legspinners Abrar Ahmed and Zahid Mahmood sharing 29 wickets between them.

Stead expects spin to play a significant role from Monday when the first Test against New Zealand begins.

“Spin takes a bigger part than you’re probably normally used to,” Stead said.

New Zealand have given Ish Sodhi a Test call-up after four years and Stead will be hoping the legspinner does well on the slow-spinning wickets in Karachi and Multan.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who picked up all 10 wickets in the Test innings against India in 2021, and offspinner Michael Bracewell are the other slow bowling options.

“We picked our team thinking that the leg cycle is important,” Stead said. We’ve obviously seen Abrar and Mahmood bowl well for Pakistan in the recent Test series, so that’s great.

New Zealand called off their tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns just hours before the first ODI in Rawalpindi was tossed. This is New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan since 2003 when they played a limited overs series.

Veteran fast bowler Tim Southee will lead Test matches for the first time since Kane Williamson stepped down as Test captain. Williamson returns to lead the side in three ODIs in Karachi after the Test series.

Kane made that decision for himself, Stead said. As time passed, he realized that maybe just pulling back a little would allow them to focus on just hitting him. Still be a damn good leader in that group. It’s probably a bit different with a bowler as captain, but Tims has a brilliant cricket brain.

The Black Caps are without injured fast bowler Kyle Jamieson and Trent Boult, who is no longer under contract with New Zealand Cricket and was unavailable for the Pakistan tour.

Trent Boult is currently playing in the Big Bash (league), Stead said. That’s the way the world goes. There are many options for players.

The second test will be played in Multan from 3rd to 7th. January. Karachi will host three ODIs from 10-14. January.

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