"We want to challenge seriously for the World Cup": McCullum backs England to learn from Pakistan tri-series campaign

Although England failed to secure a place in the tri-series final in Pakistan, head coach Brendon McCullum believes the campaign will serve as a valuable learning experience as the side continues its preparations for next year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

Although England failed to secure a place in the tri-series final in Pakistan, head coach Brendon McCullum believes the campaign will serve as a valuable learning experience as the side continues its preparations for next year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. McCullum praised the team's resilience after England signed off with a hard-fought victory over Sri Lanka in Lahore, bringing an end to their three-match losing streak. He believes the experience gained during the tournament will help the relatively inexperienced side strengthen its preparations for future challenges.

"We'll sit back and assess what we got right, and what we didn't quite get right, and how we can keep getting better," McCullum told Sky Sports. "We want to be a team that can challenge seriously for that World Cup in 12 months' time, and we know we need to get better, but we will, and I'm sure we'll learn from these lessons," he added.

England appeared to be heading towards a fourth consecutive defeat after Sri Lanka reached 300/5 in 40 overs while chasing a massive target of 387. Pavan Rathnayake, who had played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka's record-breaking chase of 430 in Rawalpindi, was once again leading the charge with another century against England. However, England managed to find crucial breakthroughs in the final 10 overs, something they had struggled to do in their previous defeats. Liam Dawson spearheaded the bowling effort with an impressive 4/49, while Sam Curran and Henry Crocombe also chipped in with crucial wickets to help England seal a 55-run victory.

Reflecting on the performance, McCullum said he was pleased with the way his players responded after being put under pressure once again. "It was a very satisfying performance today," McCullum added.

England also had several individual performances to take encouragement from during the campaign. Harry Brook registered a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, while Ben Duckett struck back-to-back centuries in the final two matches. Tom Banton also made valuable contributions at the top of the order, registering three half-centuries in the tournament. Liam Dawson was another standout performer after being preferred over senior spinner Adil Rashid for England's final three matches. The left-arm spinner finished the series with seven wickets at an impressive average of 21.42.

McCullum also praised Dawson's contribution, highlighting the effectiveness of left-arm spin throughout the tournament and stressing the importance of adapting team selections to suit different playing conditions. "Liam Dawson has done really well for us out here. If you look at all three teams, legspin hasn't really played too much of a role, and we want to be a team that can adapt to different conditions and be quite malleable with our selections," he said.

England's next assignment takes them to Australia, where they will play a warm-up fixture followed by three ODIs starting on 13 November. (ANI)