London’s iconic Lord's Cricket Ground is all set to host the first Test of the upcoming two-match Test series between England and New Zealand from June 2 (Wednesday).
New Zealand has very painful memories from the Lord’s, as the Black Caps suffered a heart-wrenching 2019 World Cup title defeat to England on then-boundary count rules at the same venue two years back and their head coach Gary Stead admitted that the Kiwi never ever “forget those memories”.
However, Stead said it's always a special occasion for his team to come to the Home of Cricket and play cricket while hoping that the heart-breaking World Cup 2019 loss don’t have much impact on his team when they will take on England in the first Test at Lord’s and play a catalyst for change for them.
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The New Zealand head coach also insisted that there would be no World Cup revenge thoughts in his players’ minds when they will play England at the Lord’s in the first Test from June 2.
Stead told reporters about the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s on Monday: “I guess from my perspective, people want to know is it a chance to come back and revenge what happened in the World Cup? But it's a completely different team it's a different situation.”
He continued, “I don't think you ever forget those memories, and they can be a catalyst for change in the way you do things as well. But for us coming here to Lord's, it's always a special occasion. It's the home of cricket. I know speaking to some of the guys who hadn't been here before the happy feelings that they have is something that perhaps they didn't have to endure through that World Cup final.
We've probably won and lost at most grounds around the world now so it actually really doesn't have much bearing on what will happen in this game.”
Meanwhile, the Kiwi coach heaped praise on the tall pacer Kyle Jamieson ahead of the England Tests, saying the all-rounder brought a different dimension to New Zealand’s bowling attack.
Stead further noted, “He's a big tall one for a start, he's 6ft 8in, he's hard to miss. He's certainly brought a different dimension to our bowling attack as well. He bowls at a lively pace and I just guess with that extra bounce as well and his ability to swing the ball both ways makes him a real force.”
He signed off by saying, “The thing that I admire most about Kyle is he's always trying to get better. He works very very hard on both elements of his game. And certainly those other little things around the peripheral of the team, the way he scouts players, the way he's looking to talk with players and coaches around developing his game is something that really stands out.”
(With AFP Inputs)
