Brendon McCullum is confident England can shed ODI batting blues in Ashes

Brendon McCullum has predicted England’s batsmen will have no trouble shaking off the woes that dogged their white-ball tour of New Zealand in time for the Ashes after their top order crumbled again en route to a third successive defeat in Wellington on Saturday. Several key members of the Test squad, including Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett and Joe Root, have struggled in recent one-day internationals, but the team’s head coach believes their problems are limited to the 50-over format and England will have “no excuses when Australia come”.

“It’s a different form of the game and it’s a completely different type of challenge that we’re going to face,” McCullum said. “Sometimes the process you go through in terms of batting doesn’t necessarily translate into runs, but the game can come on time. We’re sticking to that anyway.

“I think in Test cricket we’ve found ways to deal with those seam wickets in different conditions, but in one-day cricket we’ve just not been able to establish whether we’re sticking or turning at certain times. I like to separate – I think in T20 cricket we’re going really well, and in Test cricket we’ve got a pretty good idea of where we are and I think we’ve performed pretty well even though we’ve got a huge challenge ahead of us. One-day cricket is clearly the area where we need to improve.

“I think as we face the tougher conditions in Australia and Test cricket, we have a pretty good understanding of how we’re going to go about it. It doesn’t guarantee us anything, but it gives us a degree of confidence going into that series.”

McCullum welcomed Jofra Archer’s form and fitness ahead of the Ashes after the Seamer completed his 10-over allocation for the second time in four days. “It’s a real bonus that he’s been through his full set of overs twice and can build up to what’s to come,” he said. “You name the Jamie Smiths, the Joe Roots and the Ben Ducketts, they will be better for the run too. With the preparation we’ve had, with the other Test guys who have been here for a while too, we have no excuses when we come to Australia.”

But McCullum pushed back on Harry Brook’s demand for constant aggression with the bat in one-day cricket, saying his players are “looking for a template” in the format and that consistent success would only come if they understood when to take a less attacking approach.

In Wellington, the English top flight folded meekly for the third time in the series after being put in to bat. McCullum said the performances had been “quite disappointing” and that he “expected more”, before speaking about the need to adapt their batting style. Brook, England’s white-ball captain, had reacted to the defeat in the first match of the series by calling on his players to “go a little bit harder and knock them off their feet” but the head coach would like to see a little more nuance.

“Harry’s said before we have to put the pressure back on the bowlers and there are times when we have to be a little braver,” McCullum said. “Then there are other times when we have to adapt to their heights and lines. We have very good players, but we just need to develop a little more craftsmanship.”

“I think in Test cricket and T20 we have our template and understand how to play, but in one-day cricket we are still finding that a bit and we need to improve on that quite quickly. We have some talented players but our performance in this format of the game is not quite up to scratch at the moment and we need to put that right.”