England have gone backwards under one-dimensional Brendon McCullum ...Middle East

I am not talking about the ill-fated reign of previous coach Matthew Mott, although a heavy defeat on Indian soil was very much the Australian’s calling card during the calamitous 2023 50-over World Cup.

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That was a campaign so bad, it sparked the white-ball revolution under captain Eoin Morgan that ultimately led to glory in the next tournament on home soil four years later.

Indeed, although this defeat in Nagpur was only by four wickets, that India knocked off their target of 249 with 11.2 overs to spare was a better reflection of how bad this England performance was.

But given the alignment now between the white-ball and Test set-ups – greater than at any time since 2015 – surely things should have started better than they have in India?

There were reasons for positivity. Both Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood started excellently as the hosts were reduced to 19 for 2 in the chase. Adil Rashid was his reliable self.

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But after that mini-collapse, the batting was too passive. Under Morgan’s captaincy, England would have counterattacked aggressively way before the midpoint of the innings. Sometimes it saw them bowled out cheaply.

This batting effort had too many players caught between two stools – struggling to choose between defence and attack.

The thinking in terms of the bowling looks flawed too. The emphasis on quick bowlers who, in McCullum’s words, “bowl rockets” is the main reason why the attack looks so one-dimensional. Archer is England’s best quick bowler in white-ball cricket, no question.

Variety needs to be injected into the attack. Left-armer Reece Topley, one of the few successes from both of England’s failed ODI and T20 World Cup campaigns of 2023 and 2024, should be in this squad. A second frontline spinner – Rehan Ahmed is in the squad – would also be helpful on subcontinental pitches.

Yet on the evidence of his white-ball reign so far, this England team looks set for a tough few weeks in India and Pakistan.

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