McCullum Calls for Lively Lord's Pitch After Edgbaston Defeat, Cites "Subcontinent" Conditions

Following England's heavy defeat to India at Edgbaston, coach Brendon McCullum has expressed his desire for a more lively pitch at Lord's for the upcoming third Test. This comes after captain Ben Stokes described the Edgbaston surface as a "subcontinent pitch."

McCullum is hoping for a track that offers more pace, bounce, and lateral movement to assist his bowlers. He was quoted by The Telegraph saying he wants "something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways, hopefully.”

India's comprehensive 337-run victory in the second Test leveled the five-match series at 1-1.

England has bolstered their squad with the addition of Gus Atkinson, and there are strong indications that Jofra Archer could also make his return to Test cricket after a four-year absence.

The England coach also conceded that they misjudged the Edgbaston pitch and praised the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions, which he described as being similar to those found on the subcontinent.

“Obviously we made the decision to bowl first,” he admitted. “We were thinking that the pitch would get better as the game went on, and we probably got that one wrong. We saw that it was probably more of a subcontinent-type pitch, and I thought India were exceptional."

McCullum highlighted Shubman Gill's impressive batting performance and acknowledged the effectiveness of the Indian bowlers, particularly Akash Deep, who he noted are accustomed to bowling on such surfaces.

“They played brilliantly with the bat in hand. Shubman Gill was batting at an elite level. 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. Obviously, the footmarks started to create some issues as well. You don’t always get every decision right.”