'Up To Us Whether We Want To Listen To It Or Not': Brendon McCullum Unfazed By 'Outside Noise' After Rajkot Defeat

England head coach Brendon McCullum said they are unfazed by outside noise despite a heavy defeat in Rajkot.

Aakash Singh Updated: Monday, February 19, 2024, 08:13 PM IST
Brendon McCullum. | (Image Credits: Twitter)

Brendon McCullum. | (Image Credits: Twitter)

England head coach Brendon McCullum asserted that the dressing room is in high spirits despite the heavy loss to India in the 3rd Test in Rajkot. The former New Zealand captain reckons outside noise is inevitable and it's up to them whether to listen or not.

England suffered one of their heaviest defeats in Test cricket in Rajkot as India hammered them by 434 runs. The tourists conceded a lead of 126 runs in the first innings as India capitalised on it to set an improbable 556-run target and England crashed to 122.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, McCullum said, as quoted by BBC:

"People are entitled to their opinion, good, bad or ugly. It's up to us whether we want to listen to it or not. The dressing room is a very strong place where confidence is high and guys are backed to go out there and allow their talent to flourish. If we allow the outside noise to seep in, that's our problem."

"There will be times when we don't quite get it right" - Brendon McCullum

Despite knowing that 'Bazball' is bound to fail at some stage, the 42-year-old suggested that they will double-down on their approach and continue to entertain the public.

"We've still got some progress to make and some things to improve on, but we're a better team now than we were 18 months ago. We're obviously not totally screwed down on the method yet. There will be times when we don't quite get it right because it's a hard way to play. It's asking guys to take the game on and sometimes we have to deal with failure. The upside is hopefully continuing to put bums on seats, make Test cricket more entertaining, we'll win more often and we'll be a team that people really want to follow."

The 4th Test begins on February 23rd in Ranchi.

Published on: Monday, February 19, 2024, 08:13 PM IST

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