"They have 5 million people but are in the WTC final" - David Lloyd lauds New Zealand's domestic cricket structure
Former England batsman David Lloyd has lauded New Zealand's domestic cricket system and praised them for choosing "quality over quantity".
New Zealand have booked their place in the World Test Championship final, where they will lock horns with India on June 18. The Kiwis are also in a decent position in the ongoing Test against England.
David Lloyd was in awe of how a country with just five million population keep punching above their weight in international cricket. The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that New Zealand have a simple cricketing structure which helps them produce top talents on a consistent basis.
"I was chatting with Simon Doull about New Zealand. They have five million people but are in the World Test Championship final. They have a simple domestic formula: six teams play 10 matches in each format. Quality over quantity. We’re too often the other way round," Lloyd said in his column in the Daily Mail.
Proving Lloyd's point, New Zealand batsman Devon Conway smashed a double century against England on his Test debut at Lord's. He has also proven his mettle in limited-overs cricket in his short career.
David Lloyd explains why England didn't play Jack Leach in the first Test against New Zealand
England went in without a frontline spinner for the Lord's Test and David Lloyd believes the absence of Ben Stokes in the middle-order forced the hosts to take the call. The all-rounder is yet to recover from the finger injury he suffered in IPL 2021.
"Lots of talk about the lack of a spinner in England’s team. It’s always a problem without Ben Stokes to balance the side. If they had James Bracey at six to make room for a fifth bowler, it would give them such a long tail. It underlines the value of the all-rounder — all the great sides have one. They’re like gold dust," Lloyd added.
England currently trail New Zealand by 267 runs with eight wickets in hand. After losing Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley cheaply, Joe Root and Rory Burns have forged an unbeaten 93-run partnership to take the home team to safety at the end of Day 2.