England head coach Brendon McCullum has denied the claims of his team not attending net sessions during the T20I and ODI series losses against India.
England lost the T20I series 1-4 and with the Champions Trophy close by, lost the ODI series 0-3. While commentating during the third ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, former England batter Kevin Pietersen and former India coach Ravi Shastri, it was claimed that England players had not attended net practice during the ODI series only with the exception of Joe Root.
Speaking to talkSPORT, McCullum refuted these claims saying that it is easy to say such things when a team ends up on the losing side.
“Firstly, it’s factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don’t train. We’ve trained plenty right throughout, guys have come from a lot of cricket as well. I think it’s an easy thing to have as a throwaway line that guys don’t train enough when the results aren’t right,” McCullum said.
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England also had to deal with injuries to Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith during the series as they were forced to name assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood as substitute fielders for the second ODI in Cuttack.
“But we’ve got a style and a method that we believe in. We’ve got guys who are battling injuries and trying to make sure that we’ve got enough bodies out on the field, knowing that we’ve got a huge assignment coming up in a week or two. Ultimately it’s factually incorrect what’s been said and we’ll stay true to what we believe in,” McCullum said.
England will prepare for the Champions Trophy in the UAE before the beginning of their campaign against Australia on February 22 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Three Lions have added Tom Banton as replacement to injured Bethell in the 15-player squad.
England, who won the 2019 ODI World Cup and the subsequent 2022 T20 World Cup, but were kicked out in the league stage in the 2023 ODI World Cup and exited the 2024 T20 World Cup in the semifinals. In the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy at home, they had reached the final and semifinal respectively.
“Ultimately you’re judged on results. From our point of view, we’ve got to strip away the fear of failure that results can bring. Guys are fiercely determined and competitive… how do you allow an environment to provide the freedom and clarity of thought to go out there and allow your talent to come out?” McCullum said ahead of the big tournament.
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