McCullum confident England will learn from Pakistan tri-series setback

Brendon McCullum believes England can use their difficult campaign in Pakistan as an important step towards next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, despite failing to reach the tri-series final.

England ended their tournament with a hard-fought victory over Sri Lanka in Lahore, recovering from another demanding position to avoid a fourth successive defeat. Sri Lanka had reached 300 for five after 40 overs while chasing England’s 387, with Pavan Rathnayake leading the pursuit after his influential role in Sri Lanka’s record 430-run chase against England in Rawalpindi.

This time, England found the breakthroughs they had missed in their earlier matches. Liam Dawson finished with four wickets for 49 runs, while Sam Curran and Henry Crocombe also struck during the final 10 overs to help secure the result.

“We’ll sit back and assess what we got right, and what we didn’t quite get right, and how we can keep getting better,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “We want to be a team that can challenge seriously for that World Cup in 12 months’ time, and we know we need to get better, but we will, and I’m sure we’ll learn from these lessons.”

England had needed Pakistan to defeat Sri Lanka to retain a route into Saturday’s final, but that opportunity disappeared when the hosts were bowled out for 110 in Lahore. Sri Lanka chased down the target in 18.1 overs, with Dilshan Madushanka taking five for 34 and Kamindu Mendis making an unbeaten 62 from 60 balls.

Their early exit followed three difficult defeats. England failed to chase 303 after reaching 120 for one, could not defend 430 when Sri Lanka produced the second-highest successful chase in ODI history, and then lost to Pakistan after a last-wicket partnership worth 89 runs.

McCullum nevertheless praised the way England responded in their final match, saying the tri-series had been designed to give valuable experience to a side that remains relatively inexperienced in one-day cricket. He singled out captain Harry Brook, who he said had developed considerably while making high-pressure decisions at the pace of international matches.

Brook’s tactical contribution was particularly important against Sri Lanka, according to McCullum, who described him as one of the finest tactical captains he had worked with. England’s coach also highlighted the batter’s ability to involve teammates, earn the dressing room’s trust and adapt his plans when the game changed quickly.

There were several individual positives. Brook scored a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, Ben Duckett registered consecutive centuries in England’s final two matches and Tom Banton made three half-centuries at the top of the order. Dawson, selected ahead of senior spinner Adil Rashid for England’s last three games, claimed seven wickets at an average of 21.42.

McCullum said Dawson’s success underlined England’s need to remain flexible with selection, particularly after left-arm spin proved more influential than leg-spin during the event. England’s next assignment is in Australia, where they are scheduled to play a warm-up match before three ODIs beginning on 13 November. The wider tour also includes five T20 internationals.