Follow UsAfter England suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series against New Zealand, head coach Brendon McCullum delivered an honest assessment of his side’s batting frailties, admitting that his players thrive on flat surfaces but struggle to adapt when there’s swing or spin on offer. This was England’s first ODI whitewash against New Zealand since 1983.
England’s batting woes were glaring throughout the series as they were bowled out in all three games - for 223 in 35.3 overs, 175 in 36 overs, and 222 in 40.2 overs. “Harry [Brook] said before that we need to put pressure back on the bowlers, and there are times when we do need to be a little braver and put some pressure on the bowlers,” McCullum said, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
“And then there are other times where we’ve got to adjust to their lengths and lines. I think when we’re confronted with good, flat wickets, we’re a very, very good cricket team. I think we play a high-octane style of cricket and those conditions suit us. When the wickets have a little bit in them and they’re a bit more challenging, whether that be spin or seam or swing, we probably can’t quite adapt our tempo quick enough.
“We’ve got some talented players but, unfortunately, our performances at the moment in this form of the game aren’t quite up to scratch and we need to rectify that.”
Skipper Harry Brook (175 runs @ 58.33) and Jamie Overton (156 runs @ 52) were the only two England batters to cross 100 runs in the series. Jos Buttler (51 runs @ 17) was the next best, while none of the other batters managed more than 40 runs.
Despite the ODI struggles, McCullum isn’t overly concerned about how the team will fare in the upcoming Ashes series in Australia, starting November 21.
“I like to separate it. I think in T20 cricket we’re going really well and in Test cricket we have a pretty decent idea of where we’re at – and I think we’ve performed reasonably well, albeit we have a huge challenge ahead of us.
“One-day cricket is clearly the area we need to improve, and my comments are more directed at one-day cricket. I think when we do come across the trickier conditions in Australia and Test cricket, we have a pretty good understanding of how we’re going to go about it. It doesn’t guarantee us anything but it gives us a level of confidence going into that series.”
The head coach also heaped praise on all-rounder Jamie Overton, who was one of the few bright spots for England, scoring 46, 42, and 68 across three games while also picking up three wickets.
“I think there’s times when we think he’s a better player than he does,” McCullum said.
“And on this tour he’s fully believed in the player he can be at this level. There’s not too many players around the world who can bowl 140kph, field the way he does and hit the ball as cleanly. It’s been a huge series for Jamie… he’s incredibly well liked within the group and we’re all delighted for him.”
Looking ahead to the Ashes, McCullum acknowledged the scale of the challenge in Australia, where England haven’t won a Test in more than 14 years. “I’m proper excited. We’re incredibly respectful of the challenge Australia is going to present us and we know how hard that tour is going to be.
“It’s going to require a team to stay together right throughout, to be as strong as we can to try and block out any of the outside noise. But we’re very respectful of who we’re coming up against, we’re so excited to get over there and we can’t wait to get started.”