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Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had a private get-together with Lord’s officials on Tuesday morning to discuss the pitch for Thursday's crucial third Test against India after England’s frustration over conditions at Edgbaston.
Mail Sport understands that a 20-minute discussion starting around 8am also involved Lord’s head groundsman Karl McDermott, MCC’s director of cricket operations Rob Lynch and England selector Luke Wright, following McCullum’s call for more ‘pace, bounce and sideways movement’ at the end of his side’s 336-run defeat in the second Test.
McDermott and the Auckland-born Lynch, who knows McCullum from their playing days in New Zealand, were able to assure England’s management that the wicket would be to their liking after McCullum described the Edgbaston surface as ‘more of a subcontinent-type pitch’.
England opted not to train on Tuesday, with Stokes, McCullum and a few others heading off to play golf, before resuming training on Wednesday.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had a private get-together with Lord’s officials on Tuesday
England head coach McCullum described Edgbaston as ‘more of a subcontinent-type pitch’
There was frustration over conditions at Edgaston as India won by 336 runs to level the series
Meanwhile, Stokes insisted England were ‘not stuck in our ways’ after bowling first in each of the first two Tests. A green-tinged pitch at Lord’s may encourage him to do the same this morning, though only if the expected heatwave fails to materialise. The series is all square at 1-1 with three games to play.
