Brendon McCullum has said England will “drop the shoulder” and go hard at India once they return from a scheduled six-day break in Abu Dhabi.
Defeat against India in the second Test in Visakhapatnam is now followed by yet more time in their preferred desert retreat, England opting to leave the country until three days out from the series resuming at 1-1 in Rajkot on 15 February. It is understood most of their kit will be left behind, with families due to join them and golf likely to feature heavily.
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Flying 2,000 miles to achieve this comes with the blessing of their hosts but is not without a broader perception issue. In practical terms, however, it does offer a chance to recharge away from the well-meaning but sometimes intense off-field attention that both teams attract. Rest over nets or tour games is also a modern trend, much like Australia’s players scattering to different parts of Europe midway through the Ashes series last summer.
“There won’t be a whole lot of training,” said McCullum, the England head coach, before their departure on Wednesday. “We have had plenty of training days, two Tests, and this is an opportunity to step away from the heat of the battle. I was talking to Rahul Dravid [India’s head coach] and he said all his boys are shooting home as well.
“Home for us is a little way away so we chose Abu Dhabi and we are going to enjoy the families [joining us]. Then when we get to Rajkot, we drop the shoulder and go hard.”
The rugby analogy was blended with boxing here as McCullum ran the rule the first two Tests before departure, with the New Zealander describing the series as a “heavyweight fight” of contrasting styles and marvelling at the entertainment this has produced.
After failing to counter the nine-wicket excellence of Jasprit Bumrah during the second bout, there was an admission that India’s attack leader will be discussed over the coming days. “We don’t really do theories,” McCullum said. “It is about making sure the guys are totally clear and present, confident and have conviction in their method.”
One player perhaps lacking this during the first two Tests was Joe Root, whose prowess in Asia – 2,169 runs at an average of 46 – has made four lowly scores all the more surprising. Bowling duties exacerbated by Jack Leach’s injury in the first Test have added to his workload, while a finger issue in the second possibly played on his mind.
But Root’s struggle against Bumrah and his dismissal during the thwarted pursuit of 399 – a top-edged swipe against the angle of Ravichandran Ashwin from around the wicket – continues the debate as to whether his classical approach is sometimes compromised by aggressive team orders. In fairness, while Root’s strike-rate of 75 under Ben Stokes is 19 runs more than his overall career, an average of 52 in this time is also higher.
“People will look at the dismissal but look at the method of his option,” said McCullum, who confirmed Root’s finger issue had improved. “He was trying to get the field back so he could milk them. It is the bravery you have to take at times and sometimes you get out doing it. But that’s just the way the game rolls. There is no doubt from our point of view in that approach. There are three Tests left; opportunity to score a ton of runs.”
That England have surpassed expectations thus far chiefly comes down to Ollie Pope’s 196 in Hyderabad but equally a spin attack that has belied its inexperience and overcome the knee injury sustained by Jack Leach. Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed have shared 26 wickets at 32 between them, with India bowled out in all four innings.
“The one thing I guess you don’t know about in the heat of battle is the character the guys possess,” McCullum said. “The development of the young spinners has been fantastic. Not just their skillset but their passion to want the big moments. I put it down to the skipper. He spends time with people to ensure his messaging is really consistent and his body language and behaviours. He backs them up with opportunities on the field.”
McCullum admitted to some mild frustration with the lack of opportunities for spinners in the county system – the England and Wales Cricket Board’s high-performance review in 2022 showed just 22% overs are bowled by spinners, the lowest of any domestic first-class competition – and explained why attributes such as release points and bowling speeds trumped traditional metrics.
“It is hard, right, because you don’t want to try and instruct county teams, who have their own agendas. It is where you have to be brave [in selection]. It is no disrespect to the people playing county cricket but these surfaces and in these conditions we needed certain types of bowlers that would be effective.
“We looked at India’s makeup – Ashwin, [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar Patel – and the points of difference that normal spinners do not possess. We tried to replicate that as best we could. So far so good. We will see where it lands [in the rest of the series] but it is encouraging to see.”
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