England’s head coach of the red-ball format, Brendon McCullum has spoken about how excited he is with the Test team under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, as they have matured over the period in their aggressive mindset of batting.
They earned the three-match series at home against West Indies with a 3-0 margin, after wrapping up the victory in the third Test at Edgbaston by 10 wickets, where Stokes celebrated the record-breaking half-century and Mark Wood picked up memorable five-wickets to blow away the opponent batting line-up.
There were moments when the Kraigg Braithwaite-led side held their nerve on various aspects. Whether during their decent opening partnerships or when they found the home side cramping at 55/5 in the second inning of Edgbaston, it was important for the Breden McCullum-coached side to make a comeback in the contest and they did that handsomely.
“It’s freakish what he can do”- Brendon McCullum on this England pacer
The former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum spoke about the hard work they did throughout the series against the quality pace bowling attack of West Indies.
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‘It was entertaining. It was hard work a couple of days ago (55/5). So, for us to come through that sticky period against a very good West Indies bowling line-up to be able to win that Test series by 3-0 is incredibly satisfying, and we are not the finished article.’ The veteran expressed to ‘Sky Sports’ at the end of the third Test.
When as a team they were going down in this format in the past, they decided to change their approach in their batting department as the base of the thought process was being in the calm dressing room.
‘First of all, nothing has ever been scripted with our approach and how we wanted to play. It’s about trying to allow the guys to be in a calm dressing room, to be in the presence of the moment, go out there, read the situation, trust themselves, and then back themselves to let their game unfold.’ Brendon McCullum remarked.
It has been around 18 months that England has been going with the new trend, and they have been pretty consistent in their performance with the bat in hand.
‘That helps to get adapted accordingly. 18 months onwards with the batting group which is pretty much consistent with that, maybe we have matured enough as we understand the various skills that our batting group has.’ The 42-year-old observed. ‘Certainly pleasing outcome. The process has also been pleasing. The dressing room too has been quite calm.’
Speaking on their bowling department, Brendon McCullum addressed how vital it had been to pick up 20 wickets as a team.
‘That was the idea alright. Whenever we have got the ball in hand, it’s not about saving runs but trying to put teams under pressure by taking 20 wickets. There have been a lot of Test matches when we need to bowl the opponents out and guys have been given opportunities in this series.’ He added.
England handed the debut cap to Gus Atkinson in the series, and the head coach has been really satisfied with the outcome, besides acknowledging the work of Mark Wood.
‘Gus Atkinson has been fantastic and his ability to bowl 90 miles an hour and hit the seam and then also flip his plans and bowl bouncers for a sustained period as the captain suggests.’ The veteran was lauded.
‘Then you add Mark Wood, and it’s freakish what we can do and then obviously, Chris Woakes has been an exception with his skills, Stokes swinging the ball and Shoaib Bashir is a nice gem.’ Brendon McCullum concluded. ‘You need them in different conditions. When the young boys get old, you have to look elsewhere, and we found a couple and it’s quite exciting.’
England’s next Test series will be the three-match series in Pakistan in late Autumn.