“That injury was pretty big,” McCullum said. “He had to work incredibly hard to come back. As the motivated athlete that he is, he’s totally involved when he does something. He had to put in a lot of effort there, and subconsciously, it may… not cloud things, but maybe you can’t. You’re not that screwed.” how you might be in terms of decision making.
“That’s natural, as long as you’re informed of that and make sure that condition comes up for you later, you’ll be able to cancel out the noise and keep the glass clear in the present. You’re disappointed, but you’re our captain and we all know.” He’s a complicated bastard. “He will make sure he will come back and it is our job to make sure we wrap our fingers around him and support him along the way.”
The series defeat was only England’s second since Stokes replaced Joe Root as captain two-and-a-half years ago, but both came to the subcontinent this year. The first, a 4-1 defeat in India, prompted McCullum to call for “refinement” ahead of the summer away to England, but this time there is only a brief change ahead of their three-match series in New Zealand.
McCullum said it would be his responsibility to ensure the England management were consistent in their messaging. “Everyone knows how aggressive and demanding the captain is,” he said. “He will be suffering at the moment, with the way the shape has opened up. My task is to make sure that I am there for him and to make sure that, even so, we stay focused on what we are looking to do as a collective “. and our messages to the crowd about how we want to continue playing cricket in the future.
“Sometimes as leaders, if you yourself suffer a bit of disappointment, it can be very easy to allow that to permeate your messages to the group. But since Stokesy joined as captain, he has been very clear and precise about how. He wants his team to play.
“What is really remarkable is to never back down from it and stay true to it, even if you yourself are suffering. Still, you have been given to withhold the use of similar messages. It will be better for the future. , wrong doubt: some weeks of rest, cleaning and returning to states a little more related to returning to England. “It is another option for us.”
England have lost six of their eight Tests in Asia this year and will not return to the subcontinent until a two-match series in Bangladesh in February 2027. McCullum said the team would look back with “unhappiness” on this tour and that one. his method in conditions conducive to the effects had to be “a little higher” than it has been
“If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve had opportunities to put out a better report than that, so it’s disappointing,” McCullum said. “There are not too many opportunities to achieve diseased obesity in the subcontinent. We have had those opportunities, and we were not in full abundance.
“I know we won’t be returning to the subcontinent for a couple of years, but there are still times, even in other countries, when we are presented with spinning windows, and we have to make sure that our approach is a little more screwed up, a little better than it is. Those will be some of the conversations we will have.
“It’s a matter of seeking to bring that environment to a park where it is secured, without clouds and the messaging is very simple. With failure, sometimes it brings a little bit of deeper knowledge and that is something that I will have to do during the last day .
“We’ve also had a very quick turnaround for the New Zealand series, but we have to make sure we have learned some lessons from this and be better when we get the chance. That’s the good thing: we have a chance, and it would be nice to bounce back in New Zealand “.
Matt Curler is an associate essayist at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
