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England head coach Brendon McCullum was critical of the side's performance following their 3-0 ODI series defeat to New Zealand. The Three Lions have been in abysmal form in one-day cricket, losing five out of their last six matches. Their last series victory in the format came against West Indies at home in June and since then, they have recorded defeats to both South Africa and New Zealand.
England's batting woes continue
England's batting proved to be one of the main talking points of their series against New Zealand as after batting first in all the three matches, the visitors posted totals of 223, 175 and 222 respectively. Except for Harry Brook and Jamie Overton, no other batter was able to perform well and got dismissed for cheap scores in all the three games. Notably, this was also the first time in 42 years that the Kiwis recorded an ODI series whitewash over the Three Lions.
McCullum remarked that the batters need to know how to put the pressure back on the bowlers and need to brave enough to play high-risk shots when required.
"Harry's said before that we need to put pressure back on the bowlers, and there are times when we do need to be a little braver and put some pressure on the bowlers. And then there are other times where we've got to adjust to their lengths and lines," McCullum said after the defeat to New Zealand in 3rd ODI.
"Not necessarily in a high-risk sort of way but just by being brave enough - whether that's coming down the wicket or moving around the crease - just get things going a little bit more and bounce off one another," he added.
The England coach further remarked that the side perform well with the bat when they are confronted with flat wickets, but fail to adapt to conditions when the conditions offer held to spinners or seamers.
"I think when we're confronted with good, flat wickets, we're a very, very good cricket team. I think we play a high-octane style of cricket and those conditions suit us. When the wickets have a little bit in them and they're a bit more challenging, whether that be spin or seam or swing, we probably can't quite adapt our tempo quick enough," McCullum stated.
"We've got some talented players but, unfortunately, our performances at the moment in this form of the game aren't quite up to scratch and we need to rectify that," he further added.
England set for The Ashes
Meanwhile, England will now be gearing up for their next assignment that will be the crucial Ashes series against Australia. The five-match Test series will begin from November 21 and will be highly-important for both the teams keeping in mind the World Test Championship standings.
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