England learn lessons under pressure as McCullum hails Brook's captaincy

Lahore: England's white-ball coach Brendon McCullum believes his side will take valuable lessons from a chastening tri-series in Pakistan, but he chose to focus on the resilience shown by the players and the captaincy of Harry Brook after a hard-fought consolation win over Sri Lanka in Lahore. England's tournament ended without a final spot, yet the last match offered a reminder of the character within the group. Going into the final ten overs of their farewell fixture, England looked in real danger of a fourth straight defeat and a third in a row from a position that had seemed impregnable. Ben Duckett's 167 had powered England to 387, but Sri Lanka's Pavan Rathnayake, the hero of their 430-run chase in Rawalpindi last week, kept the chase alive. After 40 overs, Sri Lanka were 300 for 5 and England were under pressure. This time, England found the breakthroughs at the death. Liam Dawson was the standout, taking 4 for 49 in ten overs. McCullum said the performance was very satisfying because the team was tested again. He said England had spoken before the series about giving experience to some players, as the side has talent but not a hugely experienced one-day unit. McCullum admitted England were probably behind the game when Sri Lanka were five down, but Brook slowed the tempo, made important plays and helped secure the wickets. He said Brook would have grown enormously from the experience and praised not only his tactics but his leadership. McCullum called Brook one of the best tactical captains he has come across, saying he has an astute cricket brain, wears his intelligence lightly and has the respect of the whole dressing room. He added that Brook leads interactively and calls on others rather than acting alone. In a game moving at breakneck speed, with decisions capable of winning or losing matches, Brook learned a great deal. England were exposed at times but also succeeded at others, and several players stood up. McCullum believes those lessons will hold the team in good stead. England were gutted not to have a chance of reaching the tri-series final after Sri Lanka's win over Pakistan on Monday ended their mathematical hopes. But with a warm-up match against Western Australia and three further ODIs in Australia later this week, McCullum is adamant the team remains on track for the 50-over World Cup in South Africa next year. He said England will assess what they got right and wrong and how they can improve. The aim is to be a team that can challenge seriously for the World Cup in 12 months. He acknowledged they need to get better but is sure they will learn from the experience, even though missing the final was disappointing. There were individual positives. Brook made a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka. Duckett scored back-to-back hundreds in the final two games. Tom Banton made three fifties at the top of the order. Dawson took seven wickets at 21.42, notable because he was picked ahead of senior spinner Adil Rashid, who was omitted for the final three games. McCullum said Dawson did really well and noted that left-arm spin was a consistent threat across the tournament, especially from Pakistan's Arafat Minhas, who topped the averages with nine wickets at 16.11. McCullum said legspin did not play a major role across the three teams and England want to adapt to different conditions and remain flexible with selections. He described Dawson as an experienced and highly competitive player who put his hand up, while conditions probably went against Rashid on this occasion. Overall, the tri-series was disappointing in results but useful in lessons. Brook's leadership, the batting of Duckett and Brook, Banton's consistency and Dawson's bowling give England signs to build on. McCullum's focus is the World Cup, and the Australia leg will show how quickly England can apply what they learned.