"We got more timid as the series went on," says England head coach Brendon McCullum
Mar 10, 2024
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 10 : After the end of the fifth and final Test match against India in Dharamshala, England head coach Brendon McCullum said that the visitors were more "timid" as the series went on.
While speaking to the media, McCullum said that they lacked confidence at the end of the series as Rohit Sharma's India put a lot of pressure on the visitors.
"If anything, we got more timid as the series went on, and that was because of the pressure that was applied to us by the Indian line-up, not just with the ball. With the bat, they put us under a tremendous amount of pressure, too," McCullum was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying.
The head coach added that they were exposed in front of the Indian side during the five-match Test series.
"Sometimes, you can get away with things. But when you're exposed the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we're staying true to what we believe in," he added.
The former New Zealand batter accepted that England will have to get better in some areas after being exposed in the Test series against India.
"There are some things where you can get a little bit of luck on your side and paper over a couple of the cracks. When you are exposed to the way we have been here, you know that you have to get better in some areas. The next couple of months will be us working out that and making sure when we come to the summer we are a more refined version of what we are at the minute," he added.
England lost their fourth consecutive match in the series, unable to capitalise on their early 1-0 advantage following a narrow victory in Hyderabad. The visitors had their chances, notably in Rajkot and Ranchi, but India came back strong on both occasions to win.
India defeated England by 4-1 in the five-match Test series. In the fifth and final match, the hosts sealed a massive win by an innings and 64 runs over the English side.
