McCullum Calls for "Spicy" Lord's Pitch After England's Edgbaston Loss to India

Following England's defeat at Edgbaston, where captain Ben Stokes described the pitch as a "subcontinent pitch," coach Brendon McCullum has expressed his desire for a livelier surface at Lord's for the third Test match. He is hoping for a pitch with increased pace and bounce.

McCullum told The Telegraph he'd like to see "Something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways."

India's commanding 337-run victory in the second Test leveled the five-match series at 1-1.

England has bolstered their squad with the addition of Gus Atkinson. There is also speculation that Jofra Archer may make his return to Test cricket after a four-year absence.

The England coach conceded that they misread the Edgbaston pitch. He also praised the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions, which he characterized as being similar to those found on the subcontinent.

“Obviously we made the decision to bowl first,” he stated. “We were thinking that the pitch would get better as the game went on, and we probably got that one wrong. We saw that it was probably more of a subcontinent-type pitch, and I thought India were exceptional."

He further added, "They played brilliantly with the bat in hand. Shubman Gill was batting at an elite level. Obviously, the way they bowled — Akash Deep in particular — they’ve grown up playing on those sorts of surfaces, where you’ve got to slam that slightly fuller length, and us bowling first presented them with those opportunities. Obviously, the footmarks started to create some issues as well. You don’t always get every decision right.”