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22 minutes ago
Fast bowler Mark Wood says England’s white-ball teams need time to improve under new coach Brendon McCullum.
England have lost six of their seven games in India on McCullum’s first tour in charge and need to win in Ahmedabad on Wednesday to avoid a 3-0 clean sweep in the one-day internationals.
Now leading all England teams, McCullum reinvigorated the Test side when he took control in 2022, instantly improving the results of an outfit that had won only one of its previous 17 matches.
“I remember when he first came into the Test stuff, the things he was saying – it’s trying to get this group on board with that,” said Wood, 35.
“We’ve got two or three guys who have played a lot then we’ve got guys that are just starting under a new coach. It takes time. The Test team was in a very different place to the one-day team.”
England have been using the tour of India to prepare for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai, beginning on 19 February.
On Monday, opener Ben Duckett said he does not care if England lose 3-0 in India, if they then go on to win the Champions Trophy.
The Champions Trophy is England’s chance to regain a global title after they surrendered the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and the T20 world title last year.
Wood, now one of only five survivors from the team that won the 50-over World Cup in 2019, said: “It has obviously been challenging but there’s been loads to learn and I feel like this experience will be good in the long term going into the Champions Trophy.
“It’s very easy to look at this and say we’re not performing well because we’re losing games but the 2019 World Cup-winning team, we didn’t win very much here. This is as tough as it comes to win away.
“We’ve lost this series but when we get to the Champions Trophy, this cannot linger on us. We’ve got to get used to tournament cricket, it’s a totally different feeling, don’t carry any baggage from here.”
Batter Tom Banton could come into the side in Ahmedabad for his first England appearance since 2022.
Banton, 26, has replaced the injured Jacob Bethell for the India tour and will remain with the squad for the Champions Trophy, with England now awaiting clearance from the International Cricket Council.
