England in India: Brendon McCullum's challenge clear after mauling in Mumbai 
2025-02-03
Category: sports

Jos Buttler would be forgiven for never wanting to return to the Wankhede Stadium.It was there that England's 2023 50-over World Cup defence disintegrated in the Mumbai heat.Energy was sapped, bowlers punished and England's white-ball cricket dropped to its lowest point since the misery of Adelaide eight years prior.Everything since has been an attempt to correct the slide - to relocate the magic that brought about the glory days under Eoin Morgan.On Sunday, Buttler returned 15 months later with his new-look side - but suffered a similarly miserable fate.Two Mumbai defeats, both by record margins.The most obvious difference between the two days â the heat aside â is the man by Buttler's side.Matthew Mott has been replaced as England white-ball coach by Buttler's close friend Brendon McCullum, who has taken charge almost three years after he was initially chased for the role.He initially turned down the job, opting to take charge of Ben Stokes' Test side instead because it offered the greater challenge.But England's latest mauling in Mumbai showed McCullum now has the challenge he wanted.
In 2023, England's destroyer was South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen.He thrashed 109 from 67 balls as the Proteas scored 399-7 â the most England have ever conceded in a 50-over match.This time it was India opener Abhishek Sharma, who struck a brutal 135 in front of the Duke of Edinburgh to become Mumbai's latest cricketing prince.Had India managed two more runs than their 247, Mumbai would have hosted England's highest concession in T20s too.
Selections leave England one-dimensional 
Even McCullum must take a share of the blame for this loss â the baffling tactics and selections another throwback to Mumbai 2023.Abhishek's hitting was stunning, a knock for the ages by a player given free rein by the management.But England fed his strengths by bowling wide of off stump. The left-hander was able to free his arms and swing for the Himalayas.He did not score a run between deep square leg and backward point during his 54 balls, instead pummelling the straight boundaries.A tight line from England's bowlers targeting Abhishek's hip would surely have been wiser.
And, while McCullum cannot make every decision from the sidelines, the fact England's attack was packed with tall, hit-the-deck pacers lands at his door.It was McCullum who dropped the likes of Matthew Potts plus left-armers Reece Topley and Sam Curran from his first squad, preferring a barrage of tall, right-arm pacers - Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson.Even Saqib Mahmood was curiously left out despite beginning the series with a triple-wicket maiden in Pune, while leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed's only involvement was as a substitute fielder.England's towering quintet were bigged-up by McCullum as "guys who bowl absolute rockets", who could fulfil his wish to entertain.The result was a one-dimensional attack that Abhishek took full advantage of, despite conditions McCullum knows as well as downtown Dunedin after his time in the Indian Premier League.One of the biggest critics of McCullum's Test side is their inability to adapt.This squad selection did not give Buttler the chance.
Spin conundrum remains unsolved
The only blessing from Abhishek's assault is that it distracted from England's main issue throughout this series.They look no closer to solving a spin conundrum that has dogged the Test team, Heather Knight's Ashes pursuit and even an Under-19 World Cup campaign.Across these five matches, they lost 29 wickets at an average of 14.20 average to India's tweakers, losing a wicket every 11 balls.The result has been an England batting line-up that looked a batter light throughout.Phil Salt and Ben Duckett are yet to gel like Duckett and Crawley, Buttler faded after a bright start, while Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell had their most difficult series to date in an England shirt.Overton bowled well at the death at times and has been a fearsome lower-order hitter in certain conditions in recent years. A number seven in India below a shaky top six he is not.The result is predictable - calls for Joe Root's T20 return have grown louder.Many will argue every band needs a drummer, someone to hold the tune while the others do their thing.Root, though, has a lower T20 strike-rate than all of the batters in England's current squad. Is he a T20 batter for the Gen Z age and does the Yorkshireman have more immediate red-ball priorities?If England are to go back to their T20 past, they could do worse than recall Tom Banton.The Somerset batter has scored two centuries and two more fifties during a stint the ILT20 this winter, while Abhishek can better his current strike-rate against spin.
Same players seek different result 
Defeat will not change McCullum. He said before this series that 'coach' is the wrong word to describe him.He will continue to focus on his batters' mindset, rather than dictating to Brook and co from the coaching manual.India will welcome back their superstars - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and co - for the one-day international series that begins on Thursday as attention turns to fine-tuning before the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month.There England, on a three-series losing run in the 50-over format, will likely face another trial by spin with - bar the addition of Root - the very same players. England have shown their hand and it is already too late to change.After the Champions Trophy, a 10-month period will be all about Tests and England's quest to regain the Ashes.This defeat must stay in the hierarchy's mind, however, as a T20 World Cup back in these conditions is only 12 months away.Expecting a repeat of Bazball's instant impact in the Test arena was always fanciful, given the opposition.McCullum has time on his side to turn this side around, but the hard work he wanted begins here.