ENG vs NZ | The one who has had the biggest change in mentality is Alex Lees: Nasser Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain was impressed with Alex Lees' approach in the ongoing Test series between England and New Zealand.

A flurry of boundaries from Lees was enough for him to bring up his maiden fifty on Day 3 in Test Cricket. He was going at a reasonable rate, and in an attempt to maintain a healthy run rate, Lees got a bit ambitious as he tried to drive a Matt Henry delivery away from the body but ended up edging it to Daryl Mitchell at slip and losing his wicket. 

Prior to this innings, he had a dual failure in the first Test at Lord's and questions were raised over his style of play and his strike rate, but Lees responded to his critics in some fashion by scoring his maiden fifty at a healthy strike rate of 53.6.

In his column for the Daily Mail, the ex-cricketer turned commentator wrote about the McCullum-Stokes and their effect on Lees' approach while batting.

"Of the players England have used so far under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the one who has had the biggest change in mentality is Alex Lees," Nasser Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail,”

Nasser observed that there was a difference in the strike rate of Lees in this tour in comparison with his strike rate in the last series against the West Indies.

"Look at his strike rate in the Caribbean and then see how he played in the second innings at Lord's and now here,"

The hosts had lost Zak Crawley early, but brisk half-centuries from Ollie Pope with Alex Lees helped them go into Stumps yesterday at 90/1, with the second wicket pair also profiting from missed opportunities.

Nasser also wrote about the 24-year-old centurion Ollie Pope who registered his first hundred on home turf scoring 145 runs off 239 deliveries in his third innings at No. 3.

"I have always been convinced Ollie Pope would become an outstanding international cricketer, and it's good to see him move away from that off-stump guard employed by so many players in county cricket that had limited his stroke-play."

Lees made his debut in England's last away tour against West Indies in the Caribbean after the England management decided to switch on from the opening pair of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed. The left-handed opener will be looking to build on this innings and consolidate his position in the England side.