As Brendon McCullum sat in the team hotel reflecting on a humbling first series defeat as England head coach, the idyllic cricket ground in the distance hosting the Barmy Army versus monks from the local monastery – rather than the fourth day of the fifth Test against India – there came an admission that his side’s approach needed refinement.
Though not top of the list, this included an acceptance that some of their public statements on tour had bitten them on the backside; statements such as Ben Duckett in Rajkot saying “the more, the better” regarding the run chase – England crumbled to 122 all out when set 557 – or that Yashasvi Jaiswal, 712 runs by the end, was somehow inspired by the tourists.
