Agencies
England Head Coach Brendon McCullum said it is wonderful to be back in Pakistan and termed the ODI Tri-Nation Series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka a difficult but exciting challenge.
Talking to media persons at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday, McCullum welcomed the tri-series. “Firstly, it’s wonderful to be back in Pakistan. We’ve toured Pakistan a number of times over the last few years and each and every time we’ve enjoyed not just the hospitality but the cricket has been hard fought,” McCullum said.
“On each of those occasions, we’ve had some success and we’ve been beaten on occasions as well. So, we know that coming here and taking on Pakistan and also a good Sri Lankan side in a tri-series is going to be a difficult task, but it’s one which we’re really looking forward to,” he added.
The England head coach said his team is super excited to play a tri-series. “It’s great to be playing in a tri-series. The weather’s beautiful here. The conditions are amazing. Hospitality is always significantly good as well,” he said. On preparations against Pakistan, who recently beat Sri Lanka, McCullum acknowledged Pakistan’s strength at home and the challenge of playing in subcontinent conditions.
“Pakistan’s very strong side”. When you come to this part of the world you have to do things differently. Playing subcontinent teams in subcontinent conditions has its own challenges but that’s something we’re looking forward to. We want to be a team which can compete in all conditions against any opposition and that’s a challenge that we need to embrace,” he said.
He noted that the tri-series will require quick adaptability as teams will face two different oppositions.
“We need to make sure we’re able to adjust to whatever the conditions are and particularly in a tri-series you’re going to have to bounce between two different oppositions. It’s a real opportunity in front of us. We’re respectful of how strong both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are, so we’re going to have to be at our best to give ourselves a chance of making the final,” he said.
When asked about the biggest challenge Pakistan will pose, McCullum cited home advantage.
“Obviously Pakistan has a home ground advantage. They know the conditions better. That’s a challenge and an opportunity for us to try and quickly adapt. In international cricket, winning away from home is really difficult in any format. We’re respectful of that, but we’ve got high hopes and high ambitions for this series,” he said.
Responding to a question about England’s approach in ODIs, McCullum said his focus is on adaptability rather than a fixed style.
“We don’t have any kind of binary process of how we want to go about playing. We want to just make sure that we play what’s in front of us, adapt as quickly as we can, and hopefully try and play the best cricket we can,” he concluded.
England will begin its tri-series campaign against Pakistan on October 20 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.