London
\nEngland will have a chance to prove they have learned from their Ashes drubbing when they face New Zealand in the first Test of their home season at Lord\u2019s on Thursday.
\nThe tourists were swept aside 4-1 in Australia in a series that ended in January, sparking renewed criticism of Brendon McCullum\u2019s men over their ultra-aggressive \u201cBazball\u201d style of cricket.
\nAttacking cricket has been the hallmark of McCullum\u2019s four years as England coach, starting with a thrilling series win over New Zealand in 2022.
\nBut it has failed to deliver series wins against either Australia or India and McCullum accepts England must display greater cricket intelligence if they are to improve.
\n\u201cI think from our point of view, we still want us to be recognisable from the past,\u201d he told reporters at Lord\u2019s on Tuesday, two days before the start of a three-Test series.
\n\u201cWe just want to hopefully be a cricket team which has evolved somewhat.\u201d
\nThe former New Zealand captain said: \u201cWe want to be a team which is better under pressure, a team which can navigate tactically, can understand where you sit in the game and what\u2019s required.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re in front of the game, how are you able to close games out, what\u2019s required during those moments? If you\u2019re behind the game, tactically, how do you navigate that situation?\u201d
\nPoint to prove
\nMany observers felt McCullum, England managing director Rob Key and captain Ben Stokes were fortunate to all keep their jobs following the Ashes debacle.
\nBut the trio all remain in post, with England keen for all-rounder Stokes to once more make an impact with the bat after he managed just 184 runs in Australia.
\nEngland have freshened up their team, dropping under-performing opening batter Zak Crawley and replacing him with debutant Emilio Gay.
\nThe home side are also set to recall off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for his first Test in nearly a year after he saw off competition from leg-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed.
\n\u201cBash has the ability to play more of a holding role in the first couple of days here at Lord\u2019s,\u201d said McCullum.
\n\u201cAs the game deepens, and if spin starts to become more prevalent, then he can go more into an attacking role. There\u2019s a little bit of tactical nuance there.\u201d
\nEngland are confident Jacob Bethell, one of their few successes in Australia, will be fit to bat following a finger injury suffered on IPL duty, but will be without fast bowler Jofra Archer because of his commitments in the franchise competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London England will have a chance to prove they have learned from their Ashes drubbing when they face New Zealand in the first Test of their home season at Lord\u2019s on Thursday. The tourists were swept aside 4-1 in Australia in a series that ended in January, sparking renewed criticism of Brendon McCullum\u2019s men over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-549497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n