After England’s bruising 336-run loss to India at Edgbaston, head coach Brendon McCullum acknowledged that his side may have misread conditions from the start. Reflecting on the five difficult days, McCullum admitted the toss decision didn’t go as planned and praised India’s superb all-round performance, led by captain Shubman Gill’s outstanding batting.
“I think, as the game unfolded, we probably looked back on that toss and said, did we miss an opportunity there? It’s probably fair,” McCullum said. “They played brilliantly with the bat in hand. Shubman Gill was batting at an elite level.”
McCullum also singled out Akash Deep, whose ten-wicket haul proved decisive. The pacer consistently threatened England’s batters and made the most of the conditions.
“Obviously the way they bowled, Akash Deep in particular, they’ve grown up playing on those sorts of surfaces where you’ve got to slam that slightly fuller length, and us bowling first presented them with those opportunities. The footmarks also started to create some issues as well. You don’t always get every decision right,” McCullum said.
The numbers told the story: India’s seamers bowled 63% of their deliveries at a good or fuller length, compared to England’s 53%. The visitors reaped the rewards, taking 18 wickets for 454 runs—striking every 25 balls. England, in contrast, managed only nine wickets for 624 runs, averaging a wicket every 99 balls.
McCullum admitted that without Harry Brook and Jamie Smith’s record 303-run stand for the sixth wicket, England were thoroughly outplayed.
“It was only a brilliant partnership from Jamie Smith and Harry Brook that gave us any balance in the game throughout the five days. That’s something we’ve got to look at,” he added.
Looking ahead to the third Test at Lord’s with the series level at 1–1, McCullum hoped the conditions would better suit his side’s strengths. He also underlined the need to prepare for Jasprit Bumrah’s return.
“Bumrah will more than likely come back in for the next one, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re well planned and well prepared and ready for the next challenge. It will be quite different, I imagine, to this surface—and that’s probably a good thing for us,” McCullum concluded.
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