Trent Boult, the New Zealand pacer has credited Brendon McCullum’s arrival to the UK as the reason behind England’s brave approach in the ongoing Test series. Brendon McCullum was appointed by the ECB as the head coach of England’s Test team and it had an immediate impact, with the team taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against inaugural world Test champions New Zealand.
England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series against world champions New Zealand, with the third and final Test to begin on June 23.
Trent Boult: Brendon McCullum Has Ushered In A New Change For England
Prior to the series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) appointed former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum as the head coach of England’s Test team and it had an immediate impact.
“They are playing like I thought he (McCullum) told them to. It’s a new change for English cricket. What a start. Both games so far have been thrillers really. For Test cricket as a whole, hopefully we see many more games like that, and get many more eyes watching,” Boult was quoted as saying.
Remarkably, the hosts chased down a challenging total of 299 on the final day to win in Nottingham after dismissing the visitors for 284 in their second innings. England had won one of its last 17 tests before the launch of a new era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum for this international summer.
The team has won its first two tests under the new leadership, with this Trent Bridge triumph backing up the hosts’ five-wicket victory at Lord’s in the first match of the series against the reigning inaugural World Test Champions.
Trent Boult Said It’s Hard Being 0-2 Down In The Test Series
Trent Boult, who bagged eight wickets in the second Test, added that being 0-2 down in the series is due to New Zealand not maintaining the standards they wanted to as a group. He, however, stressed that there is a lot of pride in the dressing room with some individual performances.
“I suppose it’s hard being 0-2 down in the series. But there’s a lot of pride in that changing room from some of the performances we’ve put out over the last few years. If we’re fair, we probably haven’t been at the standards we want to be as a group, it’s nice to have one game to go out and play like we know we can,” Trent Boult said.
New Zealand had a chance to level the series in the second Test as they dominated the first two sessions on Day 5. However, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes hammered the Kiwi bowlers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The English pair put up a solid 179-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Jonny Bairstow smashed a quickfire 136 off 92 before Trent Boult got rid of him. However, it was too late as Ben Stokes (75* off 70) stood tall to take England home.
England 539 (Root 176, Pope 145, Lees 67, Foakes 56, Boult 5-106) and 299 for 5 (Bairstow 136, Stokes 75*, Lees 44) beat New Zealand 553 (Mitchell 190, Blundell 106, Anderson 3-62) and 284 (Mitchell 62*, Young 56, Conway 52, Broad 3-70) by five wickets
Ben Stokes must prove his fitness before the third Test against New Zealand, which starts on Thursday after the England captain missed the first day of training at Headingley through illness.
If Ben Stokes misses out, Joe Root is clearly the most qualified skipper to captain England again, after having captained the team a record 64 times before stepping down in April, while Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow are alternative candidates.
James Anderson, another senior player, may well be rested. Ben Stokes’ absence would also present a chance for Yorkshire’s in-form Harry Brook to make a Test debut at his home ground.