New Zealand expect Ben Stokes' leadership to galvanise England, but they intend to make life as difficult as they can for the new skipper in their upcoming test series.
Christchurch-born Stokes replaced Joe Root as test captain last week, with England seeking a swift turnaround under the talismanic all-rounder, after managing only one win in their last 17 matches.
The combative 30-year-old's first assignment will be to turn the tables on his country of birth in the three-test series, starting at Lord's on June 2, a year after England lost 1-0 to the Blackcaps, while Stokes took a break from cricket.
"I imagine that he will bring... there will be an immediate steel to their group," said Stead. "I think the abrasive way that he plays will probably rub off onto the group as well.
"What we will be trying to do is make things very, very hard for Ben Stokes as immediately as we can and if we can do that, then hopefully that might nullify the strength of the English, but they are still a quality team.
"If you look through, there are world class players throughout that team."
New Zealand's World Test Championship defence is on shaky ground, after tying home series against South Africa and Bangladesh, with regular captain and top batsman Kane Williamson sidelined with an long-standing elbow injury.
Williamson has batted in the Indian Premier League and is included in an extended squad for the England tour.
Stead is sure his skipper will be fit to lead the side in the first test.
"He's going really well," he said. "I've talked to him regularly, the last week or so and he's got no issues at all, training almost completely unrestricted now.
"He's still just being careful around the overloading side of it, so that means, if he has a really big day batting, then just making sure he's not doing too much the next day.
"That'll probably be an ongoing thing for the rest of his career that we expect to keep managing."
Reuters
