McCullum: ‘When you are exposed, you know you have to get better’

Brendon McCullum admits India exposed England's flaws, forcing them to play 'timid' cricket, and says refinement and tough conversations will be the order of the day in the wake of their 4-1 defeat .

The fact that it was the first series defeat of McCullum's reign did not lead the head coach to water down his assessment of how things went after England's first victory at Hyderabad. The strong positions abandoned in the next three Tests culminated in the fifth at Dharamsala, where India secured a victory in three days.

England's overall record with McCullum at the helm and Ben Stokes as captain now stands at 14 wins from 23, with eight defeats. Seven of those defeats have come in 13 matches since the start of 2023. Although losing to India was nothing to be ashamed of, considering they are undefeated in series since the start of 2013 , McCullum acknowledged that lessons needed to be learned to refine the overall approach. , as well as specific aspects to address once the dust settles.

“Sometimes you can get away with it,” McCullum said. “But when you're exposed to the way we were at the end of this particular series, it takes some pretty deep thinking and adjustments to make sure we stay true to what we believe in.

“If anything, we became more timid as the series progressed, and that was because of the pressure applied to us by the Indian team, not just with the ball. With the bat, they put a lot of pressure, pressure too.

“There are some things where you can have a little bit of luck on your side and paper over some cracks. When you're exposed like we've been here, you know you have to improve in certain areas. “Over the next few years month, we will work on this and make sure that when we get to the summer, we will be a more refined version of what we are currently. “

Missed opportunities over the past seven weeks have been a source of frustration for McCullum. The third Test at Rajkot, when India were 33 for 3 on the first day and ended with 445 before England lost 8 for 95, having been 224 for 2 in their first innings, is the one “at the forefront” of one’s mind. Allowing India to recover from 177 for 7 on the second day of the fourth in Ranchi was another, as the hosts reduced what should have been a vast first innings lead, only to chase down 192 to seal series.

“We were under a lot of pressure in those matches, and we had our chances when we were leading the match and we couldn't close the match out. Did that affect our approach a bit and put a doubt on our minds that wasn't there at the start of the series, I'm not really sure why at this point.

“They've probably outclassed us in the style of cricket we want to play and made us start to go backwards a little bit. So that's something we'll have to change.”

The idea that England's set-up is too cushy was dismissed out of hand by McCullum, along with the suggestion that a relaxed team environment lent itself to a lack of ruthlessness here and in last summer's drawn Ashes. He would not disclose whether any difficult conversations took place on that trip, insisting “they should be kept private”, but insisted he and Stokes did not have a truck for wheeling players free given the support and encouragement given to them.

“We didn’t get to where we are in life and in our career without having some sort of hard side,” he said. “For us, we judge the contribution, the enthusiasm, the energy and the constant giving to the team, and the desire to develop as a player. Don't just be the player you are Currently.

“Every once in a while, as we've all done in our lives, someone might need to give you a little nudge and say, 'Do you think you've got this figured out here?' In your own way, you might then recalibrate and put your energy into gear, but that's just natural. It's part of running a cricket team. It's like running a family. It's no different .

McCullum was also reluctant to reveal the “few areas” that need his immediate attention, but said they would be a priority when he and Stokes meet again after a break. The team will return home on Tuesday, while McCullum will return to New Zealand before beginning “plotting” to rebuild the team after this setback. The next assignment is a three-Test home Test series against West Indies, which begins at Lord's on July 10.

One area will certainly be personnel, particularly with the emergence of Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Somerset spinner Shoaib Bashir. The pair were the only two uncapped members on the tour, but finished as the top wicket-takers, with 22 and 17 dismissals respectively. Hartley's total, complemented by 185 runs, places him second in the wicket chart, four behind R Ashwin.

Jack Leach, who left the tour with a left knee injury after just one appearance, is Stokes' number 1. But the emergence of Hartley and Bashir means Leach now faces competition for his place.

“Jack will understand this himself,” McCullum said. “He will be proud of it, because he is a guy who invests in the team. Although he is desperate to be England's number one, he is also connected to try and help these other guys. He was the first person to call Bash after his selection and he was fantastic working alongside Tommy Hartley and Rehan Ahmed.

“It's a good place to be when you have depth and different types of options. We have to accept that and there will be tough picks throughout the summer. It's a good place to be. Rather than scrambling to find someone, we have a lot of depth, so we just have to make sure we do it right.”

Another situation to negotiate is the role of wicketkeeper, after Ben Foakes donned the gloves for the duration in India, having been usurped the previous summer by Jonny Bairstow. While Foakes was almost impeccable behind the stumps, taking 12 catches and making four stumpings, he (205 runs at an average of 20.5) and Bairstow (238 at 23.8) underperformed as part of an order failed intermediary.

While Bairstow, who raised 100 caps in the fifth Test, could return to the role he played last summer, perhaps now is the time to move on from the Yorkshireman and find a new option, which he s This is Ollie Robinson (Durham), Jamie Smith. (Surrey) or James Rew (Somerset).

“We have time to work out what we want for the future,” McCullum replied when asked whether Bairstow, Foakes or a new challenger would take the gloves this summer. “I don’t really need to go into that detail anymore.

“I think Foakes has held up brilliantly here, and obviously Jonny has had a decent run with the bat in the Ashes as well, so there are some good options and we just have to make sure we make the decision that we think we gives the most amount of weapons – I guess – to be able to make sure that we will be able to face the best teams in the world and we will make that decision in time.”

On the bowling front, McCullum chose fast bowler Gus Atkinson, an unused member of the squad, for his debut this summer – “He's got something we need to look at carefully” – and Matthew Potts, who took 23 wickets . McCullum's first six Tests and impressed for the Lions in India with 20 dismissals at 4.95 p.m.

McCullum has also challenged players outside the squad to catch the selectors' eye with big domestic performances, as he looks to cast a wider net. As it stands, the only hitter to have been dropped since McCullum took charge is Alex Lees.

It's certainly not closed at all, it's just that at this stage these are the guys we think are the best cricketers to win a series. You give them time to implement that plan .If this doesn't come true, of course, If someone knocks on the door, look at it. Of course, nothing is closed to anyone, it's just that you have to slam the door.

As the first two years of McCullum's tenure come to an end, the focus now shifts to the next phase of this project, which will culminate with a home series against India, followed by the Ashes in Australia in 2025- 2026. Series against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand await this year for a group of players who have been supported so far. And while changes are coming, McCullum wants to retain much of what made England an engaging and watchable team after previous lows of just one win in 17 before he came on the scene.

“It would be foolish of us to throw away the good work we have done to look for something else in the coming times. The skipper and I have complete conviction in our methods and we will not back down from that. We will try to We're absolutely refining this, but we won't back down on how we think this environment should work. We just have to make sure we get the best out of people.

“We didn't get what we came for [in India]. But I think a lot of good is going to come out of this series; I really do. This has given us the opportunity to step back and look at the areas we need to improve and have the belief in ourselves to ensure we make those changes and move the team forward. »