England will ‘risk losing to win’ in Pakistan

England will continue to play an aggressive brand of Test cricket during their three-match series in Pakistan, says coach Brendon McCullum.

“We’ll be pushing for results but we want to play entertaining cricket,” McCullum told BBC Sport.

“There may be a time where you risk losing to win and if Pakistan are good enough to beat us, that’s cool too.”

The former New Zealand captain added: “Our goal is to make Test cricket a sport which people want to turn on and be prepared to pay their money for, and they walk away entertained.

“With some of the conditions we’ll be faced with it might push us into that more aggressive style which we like anyway.”

The first Test begins in Rawalpindi on Thursday, 1 December (05:00 GMT), with the series to be completed just before Christmas.

Test matches in Pakistan have a reputation for being slow burners, with attritional cricket generally played until a result is forced late on the fifth day, if at all.

On England’s last Test tour to Pakistan in 2005, they were beaten 2-0 with one match ending in a draw – both defeats coming on day five.

Australia toured Pakistan earlier this year and two of the three Tests were drawn, with Australia winning the series decider late on the final day.

“One thing we’re keen on is not to be bound by preconceived thoughts on the wickets over here,” said McCullum.

“They’ll all be different and if we do that, we don’t allow ourselves to play what’s in front of us.”

Several of England’s Test squad were in the squad which won the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this month.

Fast bowler Mark Wood, who is not fit for the first Test but should be fine to play in the second, Stokes, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone have all travelled to Pakistan.

Opening batter Ben Duckett and all-rounder Will Jacks, who were seen as white-ball specialists, have also received call-ups for this tour.

“Some of them you’re probably more used to seeing in white-ball cricket but hopefully they can bring a little bit of that panache to this set-up too,” said McCullum.

“Even though Test cricket in the sub-continent can sometimes be more arduous and draining, there can still be opportunities to explode with your skillset and hopefully they are brave enough to do that when the time comes.”

Meanwhile, Stokes has announced he will donate his match fees for the tour to victims of the Pakistan floods.

It is England’s first visit to the country for Test matches since the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in 2009.