Kiwis back England to stick to Bazzball despite loss to Pakistan

Melbourne — New Zealand expect England to stick to their attacking brand of cricket when they face the Black Caps in the upcoming home Test series despite Ben Stokes’s team crashing to defeat in Pakistan.

New Zealand, rejuvenated after a 3-0 whitewash of India, face England in three Tests starting on November 28 in Christchurch.

England lost 2-1 in Pakistan, putting their aggressive Test batting approach, Bazball, under the microscope.

Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan said Bazball had met its match against Pakistan but New Zealand skipper Tom Latham was not convinced the tourists would change their game in New Zealand.

“They’ve got an attacking brand that they like to play and I’m sure it will be no different in terms of how they like to approach it,” Latham told reporters on Thursday after arriving back from India.

“We’re looking forward to it. It’ll be a great challenge.”

New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep of India has revived their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final, three years after they claimed the inaugural title.

The Black Caps lie fourth in the race behind Australia, India and Sri Lanka. England are sixth.

Latham said it was a “big carrot” for New Zealand to perform against England but they were not focusing on the future implications.

“If we’re able to play some good cricket then those sorts of things take care of themselves,” he said.

“But for us it’s just about enjoying our cricket as much as we can.

“[It’s] completely different conditions, we’re against a completely different team. We’re going to have to, again, be at our best, so it’s another exciting opportunity.”

Reuters