Cricket Intensity of India series will help England, says McCullum

HEAD coach Brendon McCullum accepts England have “room to improve” ahead of the Ashes but believes the intensity of their dramatic drawn series against India will help them meet the challenge, writes the Press Association's Rory Dollard.

- Rory Dollard.

McCullum acknowlwdged the 2-2 scoreline as a “fair reflection” on seven weeks of hard-fought, cricket, with India snatching a share of the new Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a thrilling six-run win in the decider.

That meant England were one big hit away from claiming an outright victory that would have sent them to Australia this winter with the biggest scalp of the ‘Bazball’ era. Instead, they will travel having last defeated one of their ‘big three’ rivals back in Sir Alastair Cook’s farewell series in 2018.

McCullum will soon begin the job of assessing how and where things could have gone better, with the aim of landing in Perth at the start of November with lessons learned.