Ben Stokes Backs Brendon McCullum To Make England "Feel 10 Feet Tall"
Ben Stokes has said Brendon McCullum was already making England's players "feel 10 feet tall" ahead of the first Test against the coach's native New Zealand at Lord's starting Thursday. The series opener of a three-match contest will be England's first since new Test captain Stokes, himself born in New Zealand but brought up in Cumbria, in England's northwest, succeeded Joe Root as skipper. It will also be England's first game following the appointment of former New Zealand captain McCullum as their Test coach, with the new leadership duo bidding to revive the fortunes of a team who have won just one of their last 17 matches at this level and gone over 12 months without a red-ball series victory.