We’ll drop the shoulder and go hard, vows McCullum

BRENDON McCULLUM evoked the spirit of the time he kept Dan Carter out of the South Island Schools rugby team when he looked ahead to what comes next for England. ‘There will not be a whole lot of training,’ said the coach when talking about England’s return to Abu Dhabi for an eight-day break before the third Test. ‘The boys have had plenty of training and two varying Tests. This is a chance to step away from the heat of the battle and enjoy our families. ‘Then when we get to Rajkot, we drop the shoulder and go hard.’ McCullum (right) was his usual laid-back self when assessing the first two action-packed Tests. Predictably, after one win and one defeat, the inventor of Bazball is not for turning. ‘The conviction about how we go about things is as strong as it has ever been,’ said the New Zealander, who eventually chose cricket over rugby. ‘There are heaps of positives. You can see on the field how invested the guys are. It is not good losing, but we walk away saying we gave it a good crack in this Test.’

India won after Jasprit Bumrah blew them away in their first innings and it is the paceman who poses the biggest threat in the last three Tests. So, what plans do England have for him? ‘We don’t really drop theories,’ said McCullum. ‘It is about ensuring the guys are totally confident and have conviction in their own methods. They will work it out.’

The man who needs a method most is Joe Root, who has been dismissed eight times by Bumrah. ‘He’s a world-class player,’ said McCullum. ‘People will look at his dismissal here, but look at his method. He was trying to get the field back to milk them. That is the bravery you have to have. There are no doubts from our point of view about Joe’s approach.’ England fly to Abu Dhabi today with fears about Jack Leach. The spinner is struggling with a knee injury and a virus. ‘It is still inflamed and he’s at the hotel pretty crook,’ added McCullum. ‘Hopefully the illness subsides and we’ll see where he sits.’