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‘GUTTED’ KP destroys England side | 02:02
Head coach Brendon McCullum has been forced to defend England’s training regime after the national team’s work ethic came under scrutiny ahead of the Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan.
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England lost seven of their eight white-ball matches during the recent white-ball tour of India, with the hosts sealing a 3-0 ODI whitewash by thumping Jos Buttler’s men by 142 runs in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Following the match, former England batter Kevin Pietersen criticised the visitors for not training during the ODI leg of the tour, with former Indian coach Ravi Shastri also questioning the team’s dedication. In response, England captain Buttler insisted there was not a “lazy environment or lack of effort” within the squad.
According to local reports, England conducted six training sessions before the first ODI in Nagpur. The tour’s tight schedule featured eight matches across 22 days including six flights, three of which were more than 1200km.
McCullum, who took charge of England’s white-ball teams this year, has nurtured a relaxed environment within the national side, confirming training sessions eased down due to injuries in the touring party. By lightening the workload, the New Zealander wanted to ensure the squad was fit and firing ahead of the Champions Trophy, which gets underway next week.
“We’ve done lots of training,” McCullum declared.
“We have had injuries in the camp so we’ve backed guys off a little bit to make sure we had a fit team.
“We have three training sessions in Pakistan.
“Guys have come from a lot of cricket and keeping guys fresh is just as important, especially when you have injuries.
“Hopefully in Pakistan we will have a fully fit squad to pick from and we look forward to a fresh challenge. It’s been a tough lesson, but hopefully it’s been great preparation for the tournament.”
Speaking to talkSPORT, McCullum also rubbished Shastri’s claim that England had only conducted one training session since the team touched down in the subcontinent last month.
“Firstly, it’s factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don’t train,” McCullum said.
“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.
“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.”
England has been impeded by injury ahead of the Champions Trophy, with all-rounder Jacob Bethell expected to be ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring strain. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is battling a calf injury, seamer Brydon Carse has a toe issue, speedster Jofra Archer is nursing a sore hand, while all-rounder Jamie Overton has a hamstring niggle.
Meanwhile, opener Ben Duckett is set to undergo scans after tweaking his groin while fielding during the third ODI in Ahmedabad, putting him in doubt for the Champions Trophy. Assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood were named as substitute fielders for the second ODI in Cuttack due to the lack of availability.
“You’ve got to make sure you maintain that belief in your side and I certainly have belief in us,” McCullum continued.
“I believe we’ve got a squad which, if we’re able to put it all together, is as good or as competitive as anyone else, particularly in the conditions that we’ll face in Pakistan.
“We hope maybe a fresh look on different surfaces in a different environment might provide some more answers for us. But I still believe our guys are good players of spin.”
Elsewhere, Pietersen blasted Duckett for claiming he didn’t care about losing the bilateral ODI series against India 3-0 as long as England went on to win the Champions Trophy.
“We have come here for one thing, and that is to win the Champions Trophy,” Duckett told Sky Sports after the second ODI.
“We still believe we can do that. Certain players are finding their feet and a bit of form.
“This is a massive series but the Champions Trophy is the big competition. If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final in the Champions Trophy. No one will probably look back on this series if we go and do the business in that competition.”
England gets its Champions Trophy campaign underway on Saturday, February 22, facing Ashes rivals Australia in Lahore.
