England may have had to settle for a draw after stunningly losing the fifth Test but head coach Brendon McCullum has said that this is the greatest ever five-Test series he has eer been a part of. McCullum also reserved special praise for India pacer Mohammed Siraj, who sealed victory by taking the final England wicket on Day 5 and completing a well-deserved five-wicket haul.
India won the Oval Test by six runs to draw the series 2-2, the second consecutive time that they have managed to draw a five-match red-ball series in England. “That is the best five-match Test series I have ever been a part of and witnessed,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “It just oscillated so much right throughout the six weeks and I felt it had everything. I thought there was hostility at times, camaraderie at times, great cricket at times, there was some average cricket because of the pressure they were put under. We knew it was going to be hard coming into the series, we knew they were going to test us physically and mentally. I think it tested both teams more than we expected. It was a cracking series to be a part of and when Siraj took that final wicket, as much I was disappointed, I had admiration for him and the fight he has got as a cricketer and the way he was able to do what he did. I think 2-2 was a fair reflection.”
England were placed at 339 for 6 at the start of the day’s play on Monday, needing 35 runs to win. A victory at the Oval would have helped them win the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 3-1. It would have been the team’s 26th Test win out of 41 Tests played by the team under McCullum but Indian bowlers led by Mohammed Siraj made sure that England suffered their tenth loss in Tests under McCullum since May 2022. The England coach talked about the missed opportunities by the Indian team as well as the England team in the five-match series. “You are always going to have missed opportunities throughout a series. India will probably look back at some opportunities they had- maybe in their first Test at Headingley. Even at Lord’s. The natural rhythm of a game will always serve up certain situations. Even last night, we had (Harry) Brook and (Joe) Root playing as well as they were. For India to come back and take 7-60, it is another great example of what can happen in this great game we play,” McCullum said.
Earlier in the series, the England team known to play aggressively with the term ‘Bazball’ coined by cricketing world for their attacking style had played defensively on the opening day of the Lord’s Test scoring 251 runs on the opening day. This came after India had levelled the series with a 336-run win at Leeds in the second Test. Even though England won the Lord’s Test by 22 runs, the England team did not score in excess of 3.5 runs per over in both the innings at Lord’s. The fourth Test at Manchester saw England finish their first and only innings in the Test match at 4.25 runs per over, a style which comes under the tactics ‘Bazball’. The England team had an overall run-rate of 4.81 and 4.30 in their first and second innings in the final Test at The Oval and McCullum talked about how the team playing their style gives the team their ‘greatest chance’.
“I think when we move away from our style of cricket, that is when we become vulnerable and our wicket-taking drops. I think if we stay true to what we believe in, backing it, and almost double down on the philosophy it gives us our greatest opportunity. I think that is what we were able to do at Lord’s. I think with bat in hand we were brave when we needed to be. There are many different things throughout the series where we grew as a team. It is hard to say that when you have lost the last Test but throughout I thought the changing room was growing and was understanding that when we play our style, it gives us our greatest chance. It doesn’t guarantee anything but it gives us our greatest chance.” McCullum concluded.
