Brendon McCullum Says England Easing Coaching Schedule Was Right Down To Accidents Following Kevin Pietersen Criticism

Brendon McCullum says England tapering their coaching classes in India was as a result of accidents after the staff’s work ethic was criticised by Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri.

Former England batter Pietersen and ex-India coach Shastri recommended the vacationers had not spent sufficient time within the nets as they sank to seven defeats from eight on their white-ball tour, with a 4-1 thrashing within the T20 sequence adopted by a 3-0 sweep within the ODIs.

England captain Jos Buttler insisted there was not a “lazy surroundings or lack of effort” inside the staff after the 142-run drubbing within the remaining ODI at Ahmedabad.

McCullum has now mentioned the easing down in observe was because of wanting to make sure a fully-fit squad forward of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, with England’s opening match towards Australia in Lahore on Saturday February 22, stay on Sky Sports activities.

Jofra Archer (lower hand), Brydon Carse (toe), Jamie Overton (hamstring) and Jamie Smith (calf) have all been nursing niggles.

McCullum’s males educated six instances in India amid prolonged travelling between venues however didn’t achieve this earlier than the second and third ODIs throughout a tour through which they frequently got here unstuck towards spin.

The top coach mentioned: “We have carried out a number of coaching. Now we have had accidents within the camp so we have backed guys off somewhat bit to ensure we had a match staff.

“Now we have three coaching classes in Pakistan [before the Champions Trophy starts].

“Guys have come from loads of cricket and protecting guys recent is simply as vital, particularly when you could have accidents.

“Hopefully in Pakistan we could have a fully-fit squad to choose from and we look ahead to a recent problem. It has been a tricky lesson however hopefully it has been nice preparation for the event.”

Will Duckett be match for Champions Trophy?

Opener Ben Duckett tweaked his groin fielding within the remaining ODI and struggled to maneuver whereas batting within the run chase, with 32 of his 34 runs coming in boundaries earlier than he holed out twenty second ball.

The left-hander now seems a doubt for the Champions Trophy, with McCullum including. “[Duckett] has had various cricket during the last couple of minutes. We are going to make that decision, work out if he will be in danger, if he is in or out.”

On the remainder of his injury-affected gamers, McCullum mentioned: “Jamie [Smith] would have been a danger (within the remaining ODI) however he shall be obtainable for the primary sport (on the Champions Trophy).

“With Brydon, hopefully his toe has healed by then and he’s obtainable for the primary sport. Overton feels OK, he felt somewhat little bit of tightness after the final sport however he must be high quality for the primary one. Jofra must be obtainable. That is excellent news.”

On England’s Champions Trophy prospects, McCullum added: “You have to ensure you keep that perception in your facet and I actually have perception in us.

“I consider we have got a squad which, if we’re capable of put all of it collectively, is nearly as good or as aggressive as anybody else, significantly within the situations that we’ll face in Pakistan.

“We hope possibly a recent look on completely different surfaces in a unique surroundings may present some extra solutions for us. However I nonetheless consider our guys are good gamers of spin.”

England’s Champions Trophy squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wooden