• Source:JND

England head coach Brendon McCullum said the the side will not be 'afraid' to play four spinners in the second Test against India if the pitch offers more turn. In the opening Test of the series, England beat India by 28 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series despite trailing by 190 in the first innings.

Debutant Tom Hartley bowled a magical spell of 7-62 in the second innings and bundled out the hosts for 202 on day four in Hyderabad. With the inclusion of Shoaib Bashir, who missed the first Test due to visa delay, England are ready to pick an all-spin attack in Visakhapatnam.

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“He was obviously with us in the camp in Abu Dhabi and he really impressed with his skill sets. He fits in the group. He again like Tom Hartley has little first-class experience but we thought his skill could help us in here," McCullum said on SENZ Radio.

“He turned up at a perfect time. The guys gave him a huge cheer and he witness the Test win. He also come to calculation for the next Test match. We won’t be afraid to play all spinners if the wickets will turn more,” he added.

England picked Mark Wood as the sole pacer in the playing 11 for the series opener and he might lose his place if Ben Stokes picks a spin quartet of Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir in the second Test.

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On taking the early lead in the series, McCullum said, "It feels really good. We were little bit behind for fair bit the game. The belief never wavered. We have got an skipper, who has got an incredible belief to bind the team together and the unit which believe that they can turn it around from the difficult conditions.

“We were able to overcome a very good Indian side and we got a little bit luck along the way as well and ultimately we achieved as the skipper said the greatest Test triumph under the current regime. We are pleased to 1-0 up in a five-match series," he added.