England in India: Brendon McCullum's challenge clear after mauling in Mumbai

The Mumbai debacle shows that McCullum is facing the stern challenge he craved. Jos Buttler may never want to return to the Wankhede Stadium. It was there that England’s 2023 50-over World Cup title defence unravelled in the Mumbai heat.

Energy sapped, bowlers punished, England’s white-ball cricket slumped to its lowest ebb since the Adelaide debacle eight years ago. Everything since has been an effort to correct that slide, to recapture the magic of the glory years under Eoin Morgan. On Sunday, Buttler returned with his new-look side after 15 months, only to suffer a similar drubbing.

Two Mumbai defeats, both by record margins. The most obvious difference between the two matchdays – aside from the heat – was the man in Buttler’s ear. Matthew Mott has been replaced by Buttler’s close confidant Brendon McCullum, who took the England white-ball coaching job nearly three years after initially being pursued for the role.

He initially turned down the job, opting to take over Ben Stokes’ Test side as it offered a greater challenge. But England’s latest Mumbai humbling shows that McCullum is now facing the challenge he craved. In 2023, England’s destroyer was South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen. He smashed 109 off 67 balls as South Africa posted 399-7, England’s most expensive 50-over outing.

This time it was India opener Abhishek Sharma, who struck a brutal 135 in front of the Duke of Edinburgh to become Mumbai’s latest cricketing prince. Had India scored two more than their 247, Mumbai would have also hosted England’s most expensive T20 outing. The selections have made England monotonous.

Even McCullum must take some responsibility for this defeat – the baffling tactics and selections were another re-run of Mumbai 2023. Abhishek’s innings was breathtaking, the product of an era where players are given freedom by management. But England fuelled his strengths by bowling wide of the stumps. The left-hander was able to free his arms and swing to the Himalayas.

Of his 54 scoring shots, none came between deep square leg and backward point, instead he thrashed the straight boundaries. A tighter line from England’s bowlers, targeting Abhishek’s hip, would surely have been wiser. And, while McCullum cannot make every decision from the sidelines, the fact that England’s attack is full of tall, hit-the-deck quicks is down to him.

It was McCullum who jettisoned Matthew Potts, as well as left-armers Reece Topley and Sam Curran from his first team, instead preferring a string of tall, right-arm quicks – Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson. Even Saqib Mahmood was strangely left out despite leading the series with three wickets to start in Pune, while leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed’s only involvement was as a substitute fielder.

McCullum has touted England’s towering quintet as “guys who bowl absolute rockets” who can deliver his desire for entertainment. The result has been a monotonous attack which Abhishek feasted upon, despite McCullum knowing these situations inside out from his time in the Indian Premier League. One of the biggest criticisms of McCullum’s Test side is their inability to adapt.

This selection has given Buttler no chance. The spin conundrum remains unsolved. The only benefit of Abhishek’s assault is that it has distracted from England’s major issues in this series. They look a long way from solving the spin conundrum that plagues the Test side, Heather Knight’s Ashes pursuit and even the Under-19 World Cup campaign.

In the five matches, they have lost 29 wickets for an average of 14.20, losing a wicket every 11 balls. The result has been that England’s batting line-up has looked a batter short throughout. Phil Salt and Ben Duckett are yet to gel as Duckett and Crawley have, Buttler has faded after a bright start, while Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell are having their toughest series to date in an England shirt.

Overton has bowled well at times at the death and has been a fearsome lower-order hitter in some instances in recent years. In India, he is not a number seven below a shaky top six. The result has been predictable – calls for Joe Root to return to T20 have grown. Many would argue that every band needs a drummer, keeping the tune while others do their thing.

However, Root’s T20 strike rate is lower than all of the batters currently in England’s squad. Is he a Gen-Z T20 batter? Does the Yorkshireman have more pressing red-ball priorities? If England are to return to their T20 past, they could recall Tom Banton. The Somerset batter has two centuries and two further 50s in this winter’s ILT20, while Abhishek could improve his current strike rate against spin.

The same players seeking different results. Defeat will not change McCullum. He said before this series that the word “coach” was an inappropriate way to describe him. He will continue to focus on the mindset of the batters, rather than barking orders from the coaching manual to the likes of Brook. India will welcome back their superstars – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja et al – for the one-day international series starting on Thursday as attention turns to fine-tuning ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

There, England, having lost three successive 50-over series, may face another spin examination with the same players, bar the addition of Root. England have shown their hand, it is too late for change now. After the Champions Trophy, 10 months will be devoted entirely to Tests and England’s bid to regain the Ashes. Yet, this defeat must stay at the forefront of minds, with a T20 World Cup under these conditions only 12 months away.

Expecting Bazball to produce instant results in the Test arena was always fanciful, given the opposition. McCullum has time to turn things around, but the hard work he craved starts here.