McCullum praises learning curve and Brook's captaincy after Sri Lanka win

Brendon McCullum, England’s white-ball coach, believes his team will have learned vital lessons from a chastening tri-series in Pakistan, but he praised the players’ resilience and especially Harry Brook’s captaincy after a hard-fought consolation win over Sri Lanka. Going into the final ten overs of England’s farewell fixture in Lahore, the visitors were in serious danger of a fourth successive defeat and a third in a row from what had seemed an impregnable position. Ben Duckett’s 167 had set an imposing target of 387, but Pavan Rathnayake, the hero of Sri Lanka’s 430-run chase in Rawalpindi the previous week, once again put his side on course at 300 for 5 after 40 overs. This time, however, England found the breakthroughs that had eluded them at the death in recent painful losses, most notably through Liam Dawson, who finished with 4 for 49 in ten overs. McCullum said he took satisfaction from the character his team showed after such a string of setbacks. He admitted England were probably behind the game when Sri Lanka were five down, but praised Brook for slowing the tempo, making key plays and ensuring the required wickets were taken. McCullum told Sky Sports, “It was a very satisfying performance today. We were put under pressure again. We talked extensively before this tri-series about wanting to get experience into some of our guys, because while we have talent, we do not have a super-experienced one-day side. To be honest, we were probably behind the game when they were five down, but Brooky was able to slow it down, make some plays, and we were able to get the wickets we needed. He would have grown enormously. I cannot talk highly enough of his captaincy, not just his tactics but also his leadership.” McCullum described Brook as one of the best tactical captains he has come across. He said, “He has such an astute brain. He wears his intelligence lightly externally, but he is a very switched-on man and a very switched-on cricketer. He has the respect of the entire dressing room. He leads them and they follow him. His leadership is interactive; it is not just him out there on his own. He calls upon many other people as well.” According to McCullum, being thrust into such a situation was a big learning experience for Brook, with the game travelling at breakneck speed and every decision capable of winning or losing the match. He said the team were exposed at times but also succeeded at others, with several players standing up and performing while a few others learned valuable lessons. The coach believes the experience will hold England in good stead because experience and adaptability are crucial in white-ball cricket. McCullum also acknowledged that England were gutted not to have a chance of reaching the tri-series final, especially after Sri Lanka’s win over Pakistan on Monday ended any mathematical possibility. However, the team will move on to Australia later this week for a warm-up match against Western Australia and then three further ODIs. McCullum insisted that they remain on track for the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, which begins this time next year. He said, “We will sit back and assess what we got right and what we did not quite get right, and how we can keep getting better. We want to be a team that can challenge seriously for that World Cup in 12 months’ time. We know we need to get better, but we will, and I am sure we will learn from these lessons. This experience has been very good for us, albeit it has been disappointing in terms of not making the final.” Despite the overall shortcomings, there were several individual performances for England to savour. Brook made a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, Duckett scored back-to-back hundreds in the final two games, and Tom Banton struck three fifties at the top of the order. Dawson’s seven wickets at 21.42 were notable too, not least because he was chosen ahead of England’s senior spinner, Adil Rashid, who was omitted for the final three games. McCullum said, “Liam Dawson has done really well for us out here.” He also noted that left-arm spin had been a consistent threat across the tournament, particularly through Pakistan’s Arafat Minhas, who topped the averages with nine wickets at 16.11. McCullum felt legspin had not played too much of a role across the three teams, so selections need to remain adaptable to different conditions. He described Dawson as an experienced and highly competitive player who put his hand up when given the opportunity. On Rashid, he suggested that conditions probably went against him on this occasion. England’s real test now will be turning these lessons into better performances on the Australia tour and in the build-up to the World Cup. McCullum’s clear message is that the team lacks experience in some areas, but their capacity to learn and Brook’s leadership have given them hope for the future.