Brendon McCullum feels Ben Stokes’ explosive showing for Durham has left him in the best possible position to perform for England in the Test series decider against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Stokes returns to the England side as captain this week, with Gus Atkinson also recalled and Jamie Smith back from paternity leave. Shoaib Bashir, meanwhile, is named in the XI having spun England to victory in the two most recent Trent Bridge Tests.

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“I thought he batted brilliantly,” said McCullum of Stokes’ 95 for Durham over the weekend.

“He actually texted me saying, ‘Did you watch the batting highlights?’ I was like, ‘yeah, I did’, and he said ‘I'm back.’

“I thought he played brilliantly. He looked like he was dominating the crease, he was big at the crease, he was manoeuvring his way around the crease.

“I think when we see Ben Stokes as his best, that is the style of cricket that he plays.

“Granted, the standard is slightly different, or the demands are slightly different, but sometimes when you get yourself in a headspace where you're comfortable with how you want to approach the game, then you can handle that step up and pace or bounce as well.

“I've always said that a fit, firing Ben Stokes executing his disciplines across all three facets is an asset that any team in the world would be desperate to have.

“We're lucky that we've got him, and if he's been able to recapture that element of his batting and unlock himself a little bit, then we should be in for a good weekend.”

Stokes and McCullum’s most recent fixture as coach and captain ended in victory at Lord’s, and the Head Coach feels the win showcased an evolution in the team’s approach.

“We talked extensively leading into the Lord's test match about how we wanted to be recognisable from what we had in the past, but we wanted to be an evolution as a side of that,” he said.

“I think we saw at Lord's a real, significant improvement from where we were previously.

“We navigated the surface and the opposition brilliantly, we adjusted our games, we were relentless with the ball and our execution as good as it could be.

“I think that was significant progress from where we were as a side and that was a collaborative approach from both myself and Stokesy.

“This week, we want to get closer to where we were at Lord’s.”

New Zealand enjoyed success with the wicketkeeper stood up to the seamers at the Kia Oval, as the Blackcaps levelled the three-Test series.

And their fellow countryman in the England camp admits his side have discussed how best to negate the tactic if it is used again this week.

“Those conversations are happening around how do we adjust how that is affecting us,” said McCullum.

“Do we need to adjust our guard? Are we prepared to do something different, to upset them, to get the keeper back? Or are we happy to live with the keeper up and then adjust our methods slightly?

“I'm not going to go into the nuances because I don't want to give away any tactical info, but those conversations are always ongoing.

“Fair play to the opposition that they've been successful in doing it.

“We'll find out how we go on in this game, because I'm sure we'll see that tactic happen again.”