Anderson hails 'aggressive cricket'

England's dynamic new approach to Test cricket is here to stay according to record-breaking seamer James Anderson.

After claiming a memorable victory over New Zealand in the series opener at Lord's, England again displayed a willingness to embrace an all-action style on day one of the second Investec Test at Headingley.

They inserted the tourists and attacked for the majority of a rain-affected first day, captain Alastair Cook at times unusually willing to sacrifice conservatism in the pursuit of wickets.

It resulted in an enjoyably even battle, New Zealand scoring at 4.56 an over with half-centuries from Tom Latham (84) and debutant Luke Ronchi (88) but losing batsmen in clusters to finish 297 for eight.

And Anderson, who became the 12th bowler in history - and first Englishman - to pass 400 Test scalps when he dismissed Martin Guptill in the third over, insists the bold approach is a blueprint for the future.

"It's not a shock that they scored as they did or that we took wickets following on from that Test match at Lord's," he said.

"We've seen Test cricket move forward with New Zealand scoring at such a rate and we know Australia are going to be aggressive when they come over here so we're looking to play that same sort of cricket and fight fire with fire when it comes to that.

"Both teams are playing aggressive cricket. We tried to take wickets all day and kept attacking fields most of the day.

"That's the way we're looking to move forward - by being aggressive."

Anderson, who has compiled his 401 wickets over the course of a 12-year Test career that has often been built on patience as a virtue, credited some of his younger team-mates with instigating the step change.

He added: "The players that we've got in this team, like Mark Wood and Ben Stokes, they're naturally attacking cricketers and they want to take wickets.

"It's been a good period for me and Stuart Broad. We've always relied on bowling economically but seeing these guys come in is quite a fresh feel to the side which is good I think."

England also have a batting line-up that can advance a game at pace, with Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali a particularly enviable lower middle-order.

And Anderson is looking for another exciting day when the time comes to respond to the Black Caps' total.

"Our batting line-up is a naturally aggressive line-up, they're going to score quickly," he said.

"It all depends on the players you've got in the team; if you've got attacking players in the team then you're bound to play attacking cricket.

"When we come to bat on Saturday, we'll hopefully go big."