BURNING DESIRE

McCullum says sizzling summer series with the Indians will make sure England are red-hot for epic Ashes showdown

- BY MIKE WALTERS

BRENDON McCULLUM says England's epic series against India has toughened them up for this winter's defining Ashes crusade.

The England coach was disappointed to be denied a fairytale finish with one-armed bandit Chris Woakes hitting the winning run in the Oval cliffhanger which instead ended in a heartbreaking six-run defeat.

But McCullum believes the 2-2 draw will serve as perfect preparation for the snarling Aussies on a war footing.

He said: “We'll digest this one, pick out what has gone well and then start to work out how we keep improving so that when we arrive in Australia we give ourselves a huge chance.

“We're now halfway through what we knew was going to be a massive 12 months of Test cricket and we know we've got room to improve.

“Most of the guys are involved in the Hundred now. They will change pace and we'll get together in Australia and get ourselves ready.