Defiant McCullum refuses to change beliefs
Coach vows to stick by troops despite rout by South Africa
BRENDON McCullum has pledged a dual commitment to England’s aggressive tactics and the players entrusted to implement them following the crushing innings-and12-run defeat by South Africa in the first Test at Lord’s.
Looking forward to the second Test in Manchester this week, England’s coach claimed that Ben Stokes’s team missed opportunities to counter-attack against the South Africans in the successful way they did against New Zealand and India earlier this summer.
And he is backing his defeated players to take such chances at Old Trafford, where Zak Crawley is expected to retain his place despite possessing a Test average in free-fall. The only potential change will be Ollie Robinson in place of Matt Potts.
‘I guess one of the messages we will be talking about is did we go hard enough with our approach? Could we maybe go a little harder and try to turn some pressure back on the opposition,’ McCullum said.
‘With the ball in hand, they were able to bowl some very demanding spells and bowled some outstanding deliveries to get some of our world-class players out.
‘You look at it and see a huge margin but I look back on those previous four Test matches and we were in similar situations to what we found ourselves in, only this time we weren’t quite able to come out of it.’
The unwavering backing of Crawley, who has failed to make 50 in 20 innings across all formats since England began their international season on June 2, comes just days after Yorkshire’s Harry Brook, the spare batter in the squad for the first two Tests of the series and a player who averages 107 in first-class cricket this summer, declared himself ready to return to his former role as opener.
But McCullum suggested there is no intention to take Crawley out of the firing line and look to cash in on the purplest of patches for the 23-year-old Brook, who crashed a hundred against the South Africans for England Lions earlier this month. McCullum said: ‘That’s not how I think. You want to keep giving guys opportunities, right? Then, their skill and talent can come out. We will see.
‘I thought Zak looked quite composed until he got out. He’s a talent, and there are not too many of those guys floating around. He’s still learning his game. That’s going to take a bit of patience and a bit of persistence as well.
‘There have been some fine players over the years who have had periods where they haven’t quite nailed it but then have ended up as great commodities for their sides. We have just got to work that out but I believe in him, that’s for sure.
‘He’s a tough fella, Zak. He loves doing what he’s doing, playing for England and you will see around the group and with the contributions he makes inside the dressing room, there’s stuff that goes beyond runs.
‘Also, I think selection loyalty is really important because not only does it build loyalty with the guys that are in the side but also it builds loyalty for the guys on the outside knowing that when their time does come they are going to be afforded the same sort of opportunity. After a loss, you always sit there and ask: “Can we replace this person, or that person?”
But you have got to think about the overall package. We have some players who have certain skill sets.
‘I look at a guy like Zak and his skill set is not to be a consistent cricketer. He’s not that type of player. He has a game which means, when he gets going, he can win matches for England.’
That is something Crawley is yet to do across 26 Test appearances in which he averages just 26. His two biggest innings — the gargantuan 267 against Pakistan at Southampton in 2020 and a second hundred versus West Indies earlier this year — were both compiled in draws while only the maiden half-century in South Africa, among five to date, came in a victorious cause.
Yet the England hierarchy remain fixated on his potential in a team that knocked off targets of 277, 299 and 296 against New Zealand and a national-record 378 against India to win four straight in midsummer.
Equally, though, they are a team whose win ratio now stands at 80 per cent on home soil in 2022 by virtue of a defeat inside the equivalent of two days, in which they were bowled out twice in less than one.
However, McCullum reminded his players of their commitment to the swashbuckling policies he and Stokes have formulated to consign a previous wretched run of one win in 17 to history.
One of those is bombarding the opposition’s tail end with shortpitched bowling, a role carried out unsuccessfully by Derbyshire’s
Sam Conners for the Lions against the Proteas recently and one bearing mixed results for the full side.
‘Sometimes you pitch it up and you get smacked as well! You’ve got to settle on something and for us it’s a positive option,’ argued McCullum.
‘You want opposition sides to know when the tail comes in you’re going to go after them. You want to try and make it uncomfortable out there.’
Stokes has maintained that as captain he will not ask anyone to do anything he would not do himself and so the images of him grappling with discomfort in his left knee during his bumper barrage have been cause for concern.
But McCullum played it down when he said: ‘He’ll be prepared to run through some brick walls to perform for the side.
‘We’ll need to manage it at times, but he’s a smart man. He’ll be steady with it, too.
‘Players are never 100 per cent fit; they’re always battling an injury or two. And Ben’s no different. We’re just lucky he’s tough, he’s committed and he’s our skipper.’