"It's freakish what he can do" - Brendon McCullum in awe of Mark Wood's extraordinary abilities

England National Cricket Team head coach Brendon McCullum talked about the series win over the West Indies National Cricket Team. He lauded the batters for being mature and credited bowlers, in particular Mark Wood, saying that it's freakish what the pacer can do.

England kickstarted the summer of 2024 on a high note as they claimed the Test series win against West Indies by the margin of 3-0. They were clinical with both bat and ball and even in the times when pressure was high, they held their nerves well and got at the top of the game.

England won the first game by a massive margin of an innings and 114 runs at the Lord's. However, in the second game, they were tested a lot as West Indies took the first-innings lead. But the way they carried themselves was one to cherish as not only they got out of trouble but managed to win the game by 241 runs.

In the last game, too, England were challenged a lot as they were reduced to 54/5 in the first innings. But Joe Root and Harry Brook slammed tons and bailed the team of trouble. With the ball, then, Gus Atkinson, who took 22 wickets in the series, and Mark Wood, who took 9 wickets, did what they do best as the hosts won the game by 10 wickets.

Brendon McCullum, while talking about the series win, claimed that after they lost 5 wickets, they made a very strong comeback to win the game by 10 wickets and seal the series by 3-0, which is pleasing for him as a coach. Speaking to Sky Sports, he explained:

"Yeah, it was entertaining. I'll tell you that it was hard work a couple of days ago when we were 55 for five, so for us to be able to come through that period, that sticky period, against a very good West Indies bowling lineup and to be able to sit here at the end of the test match and the test series winning by 10 wickets and winning 3-0 is incredibly satisfying and we know we're not the finished article but we've made a step forward in this series."

Brendon McCullum also talked about the cautious approach England took after losing early wickets, saying that players have matured a lot and, along with the Bazball approach, they have shown smart skills. He explained:

"I think, first of all, nothing's ever scripted in terms of our approach to how we want to play and I'm sure Broady mentioned it many times on air. It's about trying to allow the guys to get themselves in a calm dressing room, be able to be present in the moment, go out there, read the situation trust themselves and immerse themselves in what the game situation is and then back themselves to let their game unfold and to be able to adapt accordingly and I think maybe 18 months onwards with the batting group, which is pretty much consistent with that, maybe we've just matured a little bit.

"We understand the varying skills that our batting group has, and we're just trying to be a little bit more consistent with the types of players we want to be, but it was certainly pleasing, and the outcome was a pleasing aspect, but right throughout the process was also really pleasing. The fact that the dressing room was calm and didn't feel as if things were going to turn too ugly and there's still faith in the guys to come, maybe that helped."

Just freakish what he can do - Brendon McCullum on Mark Wood

Brendon McCullum also reflected on the bowling performance, saying that they have tried to put the opposition under pressure and get 20 wickets. He hailed the bowlers of the team, saying that young players after James Anderson and Stuart Broad's retirements have done well. He added:

"Yeah well that's the idea right, we've sort of identified when we've got ball in hand that it's not about saving runs, it's about trying to trying to put opposition teams under pressure to be able to take 20 wickets. If we want to win test matches then we need to need to be bowling teams out. I'm really pleased with the development of the guys who have been given opportunities in this series.

"Gus Atkinson has been absolutely fantastic, his ability to bowl close to 90 miles an hour and hit the seam and also then flip his plans and bounce the plans for a sustained period of time and follow the plan of the captain and then you add that with Mark Wood who's just freakish what he can do and then obviously Chris Wokes has been exceptional with his skills, Ben Stokes has been able to swing the ball and then you add Shoaib Bashir who I think is an absolute jet.

"You've got a nice rounded bowling lineup and you need that sometimes in different conditions, wickets aren't always going to seam, they're going to challenge you in different ways and when they go flat you need the artillery to be able to adjust and make plans and then buy into those plans and seeing the old boys weren't getting any younger you had to look elsewhere," he concluded.