Brendon McCullum acknowledges ‘room for improvement’ after India series stalemate

England head coach Brendon McCullum on Tuesday, claimed identifying areas of improvement for his team following their 2-2 series stalemate against India.

The hosts stumbled from 339/6 at stumps on day four to 367 all out on the opening session of the final day while chasing 374 and thus succumbed to a gruelling six-run defeat, which crushed their hopes of securing their first series victory over India since 2018.

The defeat also extended England’s wait for a series victory over India or Australia under McCullum and captain Ben Stokes’s regime.

Reflecting on the series outcome, McCullum acknowledged it disappointed him but was proud of the efforts put in by his players, some of whom were injured.

He further termed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy a great source of learning, stating he has pointed out certain areas of improvement for the side, which would be crucial for their next assignment when they travel to Australia in November for The Ashes.

"We'll let this one sit, we'll digest it. We'll be able to pick out what has gone well then start to work out how we can keep improving so, when we do arrive out in Australia, we give ourselves a huge chance,” McCullum stated.

"We're in the middle now, halfway through what we knew was going to be an unbelievable 12 months of Test cricket. We know we've got some room to improve.

"You're always learning any time you get to see guys having to dig deep and go to places they've maybe not been before.

"There's lots to pick out as we give ourselves time for this to digest and work out areas we can look to improve for our next challenge. Ultimately, I'm really proud of the guys and their efforts. It's been a combative series, it's taken its toll with injuries, some of the best players have gone home injured.

"To sit here at 2-2, yes, you're disappointed but you're proud of the efforts."