England have got a lot more talent than I thought: Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum | PC: Twitter

England started off their new era under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes on a rousing note as the Three Lions enjoyed their most successful home season this year since 2004.

Following McCullum's dynamic and much-talked 'Bazball' approach, England went on to whitewash the defending World Test champions New Zealand 3-0, thrash India in a rescheduled fifth Test and decimated South Africa 2-1. 

Shedding light on the recent success of the team in red-ball cricket, head coach McCullum in conversation with BBC, reckoned that England are a much better Test side than he thought, and they have got a lot of talent. 

"I thought English cricket had a lot of talent, but it's got a lot more than I thought."

"I knew these guys were good, but they are a lot better than I thought. It is a very privileged position to be in to go and help these guys perform. It has been an absolute thrill."  

There are still big challenges ahead: McCullum 

The former New Zealand captain further expressed his delight to be a part of the current England Test setup and said moving forward there are still big challenges ahead of the team. 

"It has been something quite special to be a part of. There are still big challenges in the next couple of years but for now, it has been a pretty successful summer." 

The first day of the highly anticipated third and deciding match against South Africa was washed out after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first. The second day's play was called off following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

England, resuming the game on the third day knew that they had to pull a rabbit out of the hat to dominate the Proteas and their pacers did exactly as they kept striking over and over again and never allowed the South African batters to get settled in the middle.  

As a result, South Africa finished their second inning with 169 runs, giving the Ben Stokes-led side a 130-run target for the fourth innings, which they overwhelmed comprehensively with nine wickets in hand.  

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