Over three 50-over games and five T20s played away against India, they won one and lost seven – a crushing result for new head coach Brendon McCullum especially after former player, Kevin Pietersen, accused him and the team of adopting a ‘best when fresh’ approach to playing by not practicing enough.
The trouble with firmer pitches is it will almost certainly make England’s spinners easier to play, especially Adil Rashid, the one banker among the bowlers.
England’s white-ball men’s cricket team play Australia this Saturday in Lahore, the first of three group matches in the Champions Trophy.
The Champions Trophy is 50-overs per side and most in England’s squad no longer play the format for their counties, the One-Day cup being seen as a development competition where the best players are rested.
And therein lies the problem with England’s batting, they want to play the ultimate game and make totals that crush their opponents even if it means dancing on the edge of a volcano.
