McCullum Calls for Lively Lord's Pitch After England's Edgbaston Defeat; Admits Misreading Surface

Following England's defeat at Edgbaston, coach Brendon McCullum has voiced his desire for a livelier pitch at Lord's for the upcoming third Test against India. This comes after captain Ben Stokes described the Edgbaston surface as a "subcontinent pitch".

Akash Deep congratulates Brendon McCullum following India's dominant win in the second Test.

McCullum told The Telegraph he hopes for a pitch with "a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways" movement for the crucial Lord's encounter, starting Thursday.

India's emphatic 337-run victory in the second Test leveled the five-match series at 1-1.

England have bolstered their squad with the addition of Gus Atkinson, and there is speculation that Jofra Archer could make his return to Test cricket after a four-year absence.

The England coach also conceded that they misread the Edgbaston pitch and praised the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions.

“Obviously we made the decision to bowl first,” McCullum stated. “We were thinking that the pitch would get better as the game went on, and we probably got that one wrong. We saw that it was probably more of a subcontinent-type pitch, and I thought India were exceptional."

He further added, “They played brilliantly with the bat in hand. Shubman Gill was batting at an elite level. Obviously, the way they bowled — Akash Deep in particular — they’ve grown up playing on those sorts of surfaces, where you’ve got to slam that slightly fuller length, and us bowling first presented them with those opportunities. Obviously, the footmarks started to create some issues as well. You don’t always get every decision right.”