LONDON: England will hope to make a fresh start under their new leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum against the coach´s native New Zealand at Lord´s on Thursday.

Stokes, himself born in New Zealand but brought up in Cumbria, northwest England, has succeeded Joe Root as England´s Test skipper after his close friend stood down following a run of poor results.

Chris Silverwood´s sacking after a 4-0 Ashes series loss in Australia paved the way for McCullum´s appointment as England´s new Test coach, with the former New Zealand captain´s first match in charge pitting him against a side he knows so well.

England hope the attacking approach McCullum pioneered while kick-starting a New Zealand revival that culminated in the Black Caps being crowned World Test champions last year, by when he had retired as a player, will rub off on his new team.

“My job will be to plan as if you´ll live forever, but live as if you´ll die tomorrow,” said McCullum ahead of a three-match series.

He would appear to have a kindred spirit alongside him in aggressive all-rounder Stokes.

England have also ´gone back to the future´ by recalling experienced new-ball duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad to their squad at Lord´s.

The pair, England´s two most successful bowlers at this level, with 1,177 Test wickets between them, were controversially omitted from a recent 1-0 series loss in the Caribbean.

– ´Mindset´ –

That reverse meant England had won just one of their last 17 Tests and they are now bottom of the World Test Championship table.

But a policy of rest and rotation, a consequence in part of tight coronavirus restrictions, is no longer favoured by a new regime keen to concentrate on the game in front of them.

Broad is eager to play his part, even though he may be denied a 25th Test appearance at Lord´s this week amid competition from Craig Overton and the uncapped Matthew Potts.

“From the outside when you see a Brendon McCullum and a Ben Stokes mindset come together, it´s pretty exciting,” said Broad, 35.

“Brendon said to the bowling group: ´don´t focus too much on economy rates, I want wickets. Let´s try and get as many wickets as we can, as soon as possible´. So it´s ´where can I get an extra slip from? Where can I get a short leg from?´ rather than being too defensive.”

New Zealand, who could be without Trent Boult following the left-arm quick´s recent arrival from Indian Premier League duty, have had just two warm-up games in England prior to the first Test.

Last year, however, they had even less preparation ahead of a two-match series in England and still emerged 1-0 winners before beating India in the inaugural World Test Championship final at Southampton.

Playing at Lord´s has inspired many a touring team, with New Zealand paceman Tim Southee — who has taken 20 wickets in four Tests at Lord´s, including five-wicket hauls in 2013 and 2021 that gained him a place on the dressing room honours board — keen to add to his tally at the ´Home of Cricket´.

“It´s a special place,” he said. “I´ve been fortunate to play here a few times and you get that tingling feeling every time you turn up here…You walk in, you look up and I think the first thing everyone does is look up the honours board and you see some pretty cool names.”

But the teams may not be greeted by the sight of a traditional packed crowd for a Test at Lord´s, with some 16,000 tickets over the first four days at the London ground still available 48 hours before the start of the match.

Peak ticket prices of £160 ($202) per day amid cost of living concerns may have played a part in reduced sales, with events surrounding the platinum jubilee of Britain´s Queen Elizabeth II another potential factor.

But Broad said England had a responsiblity to enthuse their fans.

“It´s not just results, it´s the style of cricket,” he explained.

“To attract the fans we have to build on that style of cricket and have a style that people want to watch.”