McCullum hails Brook's captaincy and Dawson's bowling after consolation win over Sri Lanka

Lahore: England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum believes his side will take valuable lessons from a chastening tri-series in Pakistan, but he praised the players' resilience and Harry Brook's captaincy after a hard-fought consolation win over Sri Lanka. McCullum said the final match was a test of character and that England's young leadership group came through under pressure. In Lahore, England batted first and posted 387, built around Ben Duckett's 167. But with ten overs remaining, Sri Lanka were 300 for 5 and needed 87 more. Pavan Rathnayake, who had been the hero of Sri Lanka's 430-run chase in Rawalpindi the previous week, once again threatened to take the game away. England were in danger of a fourth straight defeat and a third successive loss from what had seemed a winning position. This time, England found the breakthroughs at the death. Liam Dawson was the key figure, finishing with 4 for 49 from ten overs. He slowed the scoring and took crucial wickets as England closed out the game. McCullum called the performance very satisfying and said the team had been under pressure again. He admitted England were not a deeply experienced one-day side despite having talent, and that this series was partly about giving younger players exposure. He said England were slightly behind the game when Sri Lanka were five down, but Brook slowed the tempo, made smart plays and helped secure the required wickets. McCullum said Brook would have grown enormously from the experience. The coach was full of praise for Brook's captaincy, calling him one of the best tactical captains he has come across. He described Brook as an astute thinker who wears his intelligence lightly, a very switched-on cricketer and a leader with the respect of the entire dressing room. McCullum added that Brook's leadership is interactive: he consults other players and does not try to do everything alone. Those lessons, he said, will serve Brook well in high-pressure situations where decisions can win or lose matches. England were gutted not to reach the tri-series final, especially after Sri Lanka's win over Pakistan on Monday ended their mathematical chances. But McCullum insisted the team remains on track for the 50-over World Cup in South Africa next year. England will travel to Australia later this week for a warm-up match against Western Australia and then three ODIs. McCullum said England will assess what went right and what did not, and how they can keep improving. He wants a team capable of challenging seriously for the World Cup in 12 months and is confident the lessons from this trip will help. Despite the overall disappointment, there were individual positives: Brook's career-best 202 against Sri Lanka, Duckett's back-to-back hundreds in the last two games and Tom Banton's three fifties at the top of the order. Dawson's seven wickets at 21.42 were also notable, especially as he was picked ahead of senior spinner Adil Rashid, who was omitted for the final three games. McCullum said Dawson had done really well and that left-arm spin had been a consistent threat throughout the tournament, citing Pakistan's Arafat Minhas, who topped the averages with nine wickets at 16.11. McCullum added that legspin had not played a major role across the three teams and that England want to be adaptable and flexible with selection. He said Dawson is experienced and highly competitive, while conditions probably went against Rashid on this occasion. Overall, the win over Sri Lanka was more than a consolation result. It showed England can fight under pressure and that Brook's leadership is developing. McCullum believes the experiences from Pakistan, both good and bad, will make England stronger as they build towards the World Cup, and the upcoming tour of Australia will show how quickly they can apply those lessons.