McCullum Eyes "Spicy" Lord's Pitch After England's Edgbaston Loss, Echoes Stokes' "Subcontinent" Surface Claim

Following England's heavy defeat at Edgbaston, coach Brendon McCullum has echoed captain Ben Stokes' assessment of the pitch, describing it as a "subcontinent pitch." Looking ahead to the third Test at Lord's, McCullum is hoping for a surface with more pace and bounce.

McCullum told The Telegraph he desires "Something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways."

The call for a livelier pitch comes after India's dominant 337-run victory in the second Test, which leveled the five-match series at 1-1.

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

The England coach conceded that they misread the Edgbaston pitch, praising the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions.

"Obviously we made the decision to bowl first," McCullum 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."

McCullum highlighted Shubman Gill's impressive batting performance. "They played brilliantly with the bat in hand. Shubman Gill was batting at an elite level."

He also acknowledged the effectiveness of India's bowling attack, particularly Akash Deep. "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.”