London, Feb 13: England “backed guys off a little” because of injuries within the squad during their tour of India, says coach Brendon McCullum amid criticism of the team’s preparation.
England were thrashed in the third one-day international on Wednesday meaning they ended the tour with seven defeats from eight matches across the ODIs and T20s.
Former captain Kevin Pietersen was among those to question the squad for not training before the second and third matches.
“Guys have come from a lot of cricket and keeping guys fresh is just as important, especially when you have injuries,” said McCullum, whose attention now turns to the Champions Trophy next week in Pakistan.
England trained regularly during their 4-1 series defeat in the T20 series and did so before the first ODI.
Captain Jos Buttler referenced the travel between venues and the turnaround between matches when asked about his side’s preparation. The three ODIs were played across seven days in three different cities.
Having made his initial comments during the TV commentary, Pietersen repeated his criticism on Thursday, saying “injuries are not stopping batters from batting against new bowlers and learning the art of spin”.
“We’ve done lots of training,” McCullum said. “We have had injuries in the camp so we’ve backed guys off a little bit to make sure we had a fit team.
“We have three training sessions in Pakistan [before the Champions Trophy starts].
“Hopefully in Pakistan we will have a fully fit squad to pick from and we look forward to a fresh challenge. It’s been a tough lesson but hopefully it’s been great preparation for the tournament.”
England’s latest fitness concern is over opener Ben Duckett, who injured his left groin in the third ODI. He will have a scan in the coming days before the Champions Trophy opener against Australia on 22 February in Lahore. “He’s had quite a lot of cricket over the last little while,” said McCullum. “We will make that call, work out if he’s going to be at risk, if he’s in or out.”
England have already lost all-rounder Jacob Bethell to a hamstring injury – he has been replaced by batter Tom Banton – while wicketkeeper Jamie Smith has not played since the third T20 on 28 January because of a calf injury.
McCullum said Smith will be fit to face Australia and played down concerns over Brydon Carse’s toe issue, a cut to Jofra Archer’s hand and a hamstring niggle affecting Jamie Overton.
“Jamie [Smith] would have been a risk [on Wednesday] but he will be available for the first game,” McCullum said. “With Brydon, hopefully his toe has healed by then and he is available for the first game.
“Jamie Overton feels OK. He felt a little bit of tightness after the last game but he should be fine for the first one. Jofra should be available. That’s good news.” (Agencies)
