McCullum Urges Lord's Groundsmen for 'Spicy' 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 is hoping for a different surface at Lord's for the third Test. He's publicly called for a "spicy" pitch, desiring more pace and bounce to suit his team's aggressive style.

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

The second Test saw India dominate, securing a 337-run victory and leveling the five-match series at 1-1.

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

McCullum acknowledged that England misjudged the Edgbaston pitch, praising the Indian bowlers for exploiting the conditions that favored their subcontinent-style attack.

"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 elaborated on India's performance: "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.”