New Zealand head coach Gary Stead on Wednesday said Ben Stokes’s appointment as England captain will make their Test side more steely but the visitors will try and make things as hard as possible for the new skipper.
New Zealand announced their squad for a 3-Test series in England in June on Tuesday. The visitors will head to the Old Blighty with good memories as they defeated a Joe Root’s side before going on to win the World Test Championship final in England last year.
Things will be a little different this time around as England, under Ben Stokes, will be looking to get off to a good start as they begin their journey towards revamping the Test side. Joe Root stepped down as skipper after England lost to West Indies earlier this year. The change in leadership came even as Englad have won only 1 of their last 17 Test matches.
“Look, I imagine that he will bring – there will be an immediate steel to their group,” Stead said.
“I think the abrasive way that he plays will probably rub off onto the group as well.
“What we will be trying to do is make things very, very hard for Ben Stokes as immediately as we can and if we can do that, then hopefully that might nullify the strength of the English.
“But they are still a quality team. If you look through, there are world-class players throughout that team.”
New Zealand’s World Test Championship defence is on shaky ground after tying the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh, with regular captain and top batsman Kane Williamson sidelined with a long-standing elbow injury.
Williamson, however, has been batting in the Indian Premier League and was included in an extended squad for the England tour on Monday.
