McCullum Hails England's Character and Brook's Captaincy After Consolation Win Over Sri Lanka

Brendon McCullum believes England will take vital lessons from a chastening tri-series in Pakistan, but he found plenty of encouragement in the team's character and in Harry Brook's captaincy after a hard-fought consolation win over Sri Lanka in Lahore. England had looked in serious danger of a fourth successive defeat, and a third in a row from a seemingly dominant position, as Sri Lanka chased 387. Ben Duckett's 167 had given England an imposing total, but Pavan Rathnayake, the hero of Sri Lanka's 430-run chase in Rawalpindi last week, once again kept his side on course at 300 for 5 after 40 overs. This time, however, England found the breakthroughs that had eluded them in recent defeats, with Liam Dawson finishing with 4 for 49 in ten overs. McCullum said the performance was very satisfying because the team was put under pressure again and responded. He noted that England had spoken before the series about giving experience to a relatively inexperienced one-day side, and that Brook was able to slow the game down, make important plays and secure the wickets England needed. McCullum was especially generous in his praise of Brook's leadership. He described the stand-in captain as one of the best tactical captains he has come across, saying Brook has an astute cricket brain, wears his intelligence lightly and commands the respect of the entire dressing room. According to McCullum, Brook's leadership is interactive: he consults other players and leads the group rather than trying to do everything alone. McCullum added that being thrust into high-pressure situations, where decisions can win or lose a game, will have helped Brook grow enormously. England were disappointed not to reach the tri-series final, especially after Sri Lanka's win over Pakistan on Monday ended their mathematical chances. But McCullum insisted the experience would serve the team well as it builds towards the 50-over World Cup in South Africa next year. England will travel to Australia later this week for a warm-up match against Western Australia and then three ODIs. McCullum said the team would assess what it got right and what it did not, and keep trying to improve. There were several individual positives. Brook made a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, Duckett scored back-to-back hundreds in the final two games, and Tom Banton hit three fifties at the top of the order. Dawson took seven wickets at 21.42 and impressed after being preferred to senior spinner Adil Rashid, who was omitted for the final three games. McCullum said Dawson had done really well and that left-arm spin had been a consistent threat across the tournament, citing Pakistan's Arafat Minhas, who topped the averages with nine wickets at 16.11. McCullum also said legspin had not played a major role in the series and that England want to be adaptable and flexible in selection. He acknowledged that conditions probably went against Rashid on this occasion, while Dawson took his opportunity. Overall, McCullum sees the tour as a valuable learning experience, even if the final was missed, and believes the lessons will help England become a more serious challenger by the time the World Cup arrives.