Brendon McCullum is not the type of man to express regrets – he holds none over New Zealand’s aggressive approach to Test cricket – but it appears the Kiwis’ captain is more than partial to a mind game or two.
The tourists go into the second and final Test at Headingley 1-0 down and knowing anything but victory would end a two-year run in which they have been unbeaten in six series and risen to third in the ICC rankings.
New Zealand’s style of all-out attacking during that time has certainly won the hearts and minds of their public back home; Alastair Cook’s men have tasted something similar in the aftermath of their thrilling 124-run victory at Lord’s on Monday that was fuelled by Ben Stokes’ stunning 85-ball century.
But for McCullum, a question mark remains over whether that performance from the hosts was the dawn of a new attacking era or simply a one-off.
And following the germination of some criticism back home for the defeat at Lord’s, he was keen to point the spotlight elsewhere.
“I make no apologies to how we play the game,” McCullum said. “We had a beer with [the England players] after the last Test and they seemed pretty content. But I guess the challenge for England will be, what is their authentic style?
“What is their style that they want to be known for as a team, heading forward? Was their last performance how they want to play the game, or was it more of a case of maybe stumbling on it?”
McCullum, it appears, believes his best chance of pulling off a series-levelling victory in Leeds would be for Cook’s side to go into the Headingley Test attempting a repeat performance – or at least to find themselves torn between that and ensuring the draw.
“For them, it’s probably more authentic to play a slightly more conservative brand of cricket,” he said.
“But they have some aggressive players, who seized the moment during that Test match. If we can negate those guys, I guess we’ll see a slightly different style.”
Among those players, naturally, is Stokes. And McCullum, a similarly cavalier batsman, admits new plans have had to be drawn up after the all-rounder’s exhibition of power-hitting at Lord’s.
“We’ve had a good chat about him,” McCullum said. “When you are playing against someone who is that destructive, as someone like Ben Stokes can be, you need to make sure you are meticulous in your plans. We have tinkered with them and I expect us to bowl better at him.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Cook, whose 345-ball 162 in England’s second innings was the foundation for the Lord’s win.
And while McCullum appeared keen to get into his opposite number’s head over his team’s tactics, his respect for the opener still runs deep.
“We are very different players, obviously,” he said. “He’s got a strong character, a lot of the off-field dramas that he’s had to put up with over the last 12-24 months. But he is the leader of the England team and the guys have responded to him.
“His statistics throughout his career are superb. How many Test hundreds has he got? 27. How old is he? 30.
“Those are pretty good numbers. It’s hard not to have a huge amount of respect for someone who has done that and carries himself nicely as well.”
For all the talk, New Zealand’s problems stack up higher than their opponents. The all-rounder Corey Anderson did not train on Thursday due to a back problem, while the wicketkeeper BJ Watling was unable to take the gloves at Lord’s due to a knee problem.
It means Luke Ronchi, the reserve wicketkeeper, is poised to make his Test debut, at the age of 34, in place of Anderson, with Watling, who scored 61 not out and 59 in the first Test, a possibility to play as a specialist batsman, leaving a four-man bowling attack.
