ENG vs IND: Threat for India? Brendon McCullum shares his preference for the Lord's pitch with "bit more pace, a bit more bounce" statement

Brendon McCullum wants the Lord’s pitch to have plenty of life in it.

England coach Brendon McCullum has revealed the kind of pitch he would like to have at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The England Cricket Team and the Indian Cricket Team are gearing up for the third test, scheduled to commence from July 10.

Notably, the pitch for the first two games of the series at Headingley and Edgbaston had a lot for batters and very little for bowlers. Both India and England posted big totals in both games. The hosts won the first test by chasing down a 371-run target. Four Indian batters and two England batters slammed centuries in Leeds.

In the second test, Shubman Gill hammered a double century in the first innings and a ton in the second innings. India set a huge target of 608 runs for England in the second test and won the encounter by 336 runs. Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep had success even though there wasn’t much advantage for the pacers in the pitch, which saw truckloads of runs. The five-match series is tied at 1-1 after two matches.

Something with a bit more pace and bounce – Brendon McCullum on Lord’s pitch

During an interview with the Telegraph, McCullum said that he would like the Lord’s pitch to have more pace and bounce.

“Something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways. It’ll be a blockbuster either way, but I think it’s going to set up for a cracker – especially if there’s plenty of life in it,” he said.

McCullum also revealed that Jofra Archer is available for selection and might make it into the playing XI for the third test.

“He’ll certainly be available for selection. Our seamers have gone two Tests on the spin and we’ve got a short turnaround before we head down to HQ. We’ll let the dust settle on this one, but Jofra is looking fit, he’s looking strong, he’s looking ready to go, and he’ll come into calculations. It’s hugely exciting”, he said.

Notably, during the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final at Lord’s last month, the pitch offered a lot of support to pacers. Pacers Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins were quite successful during the encounter.

Meanwhile, England have added pacer Gus Atkinson to their squad for the third test. Atkinson has joined the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury. Indian skipper Shubman Gill also revealed that Jasprit Bumrah will be back in the playing XI for the upcoming game.

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