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.

They now face a New Zealand side that under Kane Williamson, McCullum's successor as captain, became the inaugural World Test champions by defeating India in the final at Southampton last year, shortly after they completed a 1-0 campaign triumph away to England.

For all the talk of a fresh start, England had just one debutant in fast bowler Matthew Potts when they named a familiar-looking XI on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, dynamic all-rounder Stokes's influence has led to the recall of veteran new-ball duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

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.

Stokes has also been a prime mover in the decision to promote Ollie Pope to number three, despite the Surrey batsman's modest Test record, with star batsman Root now back in his favoured position of number four, and to retain struggling opener Zak Crawley.

"Our time"

"I've said to the guys who are in now: you've got the