Former English skipper, Nasser Hussain said the hosts should’ve gone for a win rather than playing defensively on Day 5 of the first Test against New Zealand. England never looked in the mood of chasing the target of 273 runs in the final two sessions after New Zealand declared their innings at 169/6. Root and Dominic Sibley played a crucial role in England’s walk away with a draw at the Lord’s on Sunday. Sibley scored 60 runs off 207 balls, equalling the seventh slowest fifty by an England opener in this decade.

During a chat on Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain said, “There only seemed to be one side that were keen to win it and that’s why Kane Williamson stayed on, even at the end. He could have shaken hands at 15 overs to go but he didn’t because he was the one playing the positive cricket. “I understand why England didn’t go for it — you have to put it into context. They lost their last three Test matches, there’s no Jos Buttler, no Ben Stokes.”

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Hussain said England had intent of even trying to go for a win and attributed the hosts’ slow approach to recent matches in which the Root-led side had found themselves gasping for breath.

Elaborating the same, Nasser Hussain said, “I think at least try to go at it hard, show some intent and if you get four or five down, then you can block, then you can say ‘no, we’re not going any further’. They got criticised a lot for playing aggressive cricket, now they play defensive cricket — it doesn’t have to be one or the other. In 70-odd overs, you can go the other way and then if you get in a bit of trouble you can drag it back in.”

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England and New Zealand will now be locking horns with each other in the second Test from Thursday.