McCullum says England will learn from tri-series lessons, praises Brook's captaincy

England's white-ball coach Brendon McCullum believes his team will take important lessons from a chastening tri-series in Pakistan, but he praised the players' resilience and especially Harry Brook's captaincy after a hard-fought consolation win over Sri Lanka in Lahore. England had looked in danger of a fourth straight defeat when Sri Lanka reached 300 for 5 after 40 overs in pursuit of 387, but this time England found the breakthroughs at the death. Liam Dawson was the key bowler with 4 for 49 in ten overs, and McCullum said the performance showed the character of a young side. McCullum said England had deliberately used the tri-series to give experience to less seasoned one-day players. He admitted the team was behind the game when Sri Lanka were five down, but Brook slowed the tempo, made tactical changes and found the wickets England needed. McCullum described Brook as one of the best tactical captains he has worked with, saying the young leader has an astute cricket brain, wears his intelligence lightly and has the respect of the whole dressing room. He added that Brook's leadership is interactive and that the captain calls on others rather than trying to do everything alone. The coach said Brook would have learned a great deal from being thrust into high-pressure situations where decisions can win or lose a game. England were disappointed not to reach the tri-series final after Sri Lanka beat Pakistan, but McCullum insisted the bigger goal remains the 50-over World Cup in South Africa next year. England will now travel to Australia for a warm-up match against Western Australia and three ODIs, and McCullum said the team will assess what went right and what did not. There were several individual positives. Brook made a career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, Ben Duckett struck back-to-back hundreds in the final two games, and Tom Banton made three fifties at the top of the order. Dawson took seven wickets at 21.42 and was preferred to senior spinner Adil Rashid for the last three games. McCullum said Dawson had done really well and had put his hand up, while Rashid was unfortunate because conditions probably went against him. McCullum also noted that left-arm spin was a consistent threat across the tournament, with Pakistan's Arafat Minhas topping the averages with nine wickets at 16.11. He said legspin did not play a major role and that England want to be adaptable and flexible with selections. Overall, the Lahore win was only a consolation, but McCullum believes the experience will hold England in good stead as they build towards the World Cup.