Room to improve further, says England coach McCullum following an all-timer of a Test series against India.
Brendon McCullum: ‘We know we’ve got room to improve’.
After an exciting series against India finished 2-2, thanks to what the head coach feels was a well-earned victory for the tourists in the fifth Test at the Kia Oval, Brendon McCullum says he has highlighted areas where England must improve before the Ashes.
On the 25th and last day of this Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, India pulled off their most narrow victory by a margin of six runs after overcoming a 2-1 deficit in an incredible 56 minutes of play.
As a result, England was deprived of their first series victory over India since 2018, the year they last prevailed in a five-match series. Under the guidance of McCullum and Ben Stokes, they have yet to defeat Australia or India in a series.
There is time to relax since England’s next games are a white-ball series against South Africa and Ireland in September. As head coach since the beginning of the season, McCullum will be handling both tasks. After everything is completed, he will immediately concentrate on reviewing the previous seven weeks to determine what went well and what didn’t. His main goal will be to improve before the first Ashes Test in Perth in November.
“We’ll let this one sit, we’ll digest it,” McCullum said. “We’ll be able to pick out what has gone well then start to work out how we can keep improving so, when we do arrive out in Australia, we give ourselves a huge chance.
“We’re in the middle now, halfway through what we knew was going to be an unbelievable 12 months of Test cricket. We know we’ve got some room to improve.
“You’re always learning any time you get to see guys having to dig deep and go to places they’ve maybe not been before.
“There’s lots to pick out as we give ourselves time for this to digest and work out areas we can look to improve for our next challenge. Ultimately, I’m really proud of the guys and their efforts. It’s been a combative series, it’s taken its toll with injuries, some of the best players have gone home injured.
“To sit here at 2-2, yes, you’re disappointed but you’re proud of the efforts.”