England coach Brendon McCullum admits the Ashes could struggle to live up to India series as he insists clash was the best he has been involved in

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Brendon McCullum has suggested the Ashes will have something to live up to this winter after claiming England's 2-2 draw with India is the best Test series he has experienced.
After India snatched a dramatic six-run win, Mohammed Siraj concluding a match watched by an aggregate attendance in excess of 115,000 by working Gus Atkinson, England coach McCullum admitted: 'It was a fair reflection, I think. An unbelievable series to be part of, as good a series as I've been involved in or witnessed in my time.
'It had everything. It had confrontation, it had stalemates, it had passion and it had some sub-par performances under pressure as well.
'Siraj has the absolute heart of a lion to bowl 90 miles per hour in his 30th over of his fifth Test match. It's quite an incredible effort. As much as we got ourselves in a winning position, I feel like they deserved to win. They played better cricket.
'I know a lot of people had their attention on the Ashes, that was never it for us. We knew this was going to be an epic series.
'With batting, if you look at the run charts it's dominated by the India players. The wicket-taking is probably dominated by Indian players. For me, that says our guys were resourceful throughout. We weren't reyling on one or two guys to be competitive.
'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.'
That next challenge against Australia begins in Perth on November 21, and McCullum has no concerns about captain Ben Stokes returning from a torn shoulder muscle to lead the side, saying: 'He'll be fine.'
However, there is a much less encouraging forecast for Chris Woakes, the other senior statesman injured towards the end of a spell of five matches in 45 days, as surgery on the left shoulder he dislocated while fielding in the first innings would rule him out for up to six months.
'He's been a huge member of this side and played five Tests here, putting himself through it,' said McCullum.
'To do the injury the way he did sums up the guy: he's all in and gives everything for the team.'
Of the decision for him to walk to the middle with his arm in a sling, with England needing 16 runs to level the scores and claim the series, he added: 'Woakesy came to me in the first innings and said: "So you want me to bat?" I said it was fine! It was within 24 hours of it happening and he was in an immense amount of pain.
'He came to us on Sunday night and said: "If it gets down to it I am ready to go." Again it's what you want from our players. This game is hard and takes us to some tough places, challenging us mentally and physically. Sometimes we end up with injuries. To still want to go out and do your best for your country is what these guys are desperate to show. It was really brave.
'I thought we might have a fairytale, where we needed two to win and he was on strike and found a way. But it wasn't to be.'
Meanwhile, acting captain Ollie Pope says this series reaffirms that the world's very best players - even those able to earn fortunes on the franchise Twenty20 circuit - remain infatuated with Test cricket.
'If you ask all the players, they love Test cricket. You saw what the South Africans did at Lord's when they beat Australia and hopefully that can kind of push teams like that forward more and more. How can you not love Test cricket? if you've flicked on the TV for the (final) hour? There were some nervous, nervous faces up there (gesturing to the team balcony), but it's so gripping. A series like this can only do real good for the game, I think.
'Everyone in this changing room, it means more than anything to them. And I'm sure it's the same for those guys. I guess the heart guys like Siraj have shown over the last few days and unfortunately, what this win means for them as well, shows how much it means.
'Test cricket is still a lot of people's number one and hopefully it stays that way.'