'There are three Tests left; opportunity to score a ton of runs.'
England will 'go hard' at India in the third Test in Rajkot, starting on February 15 after their 10-day break in the UAE following the 106-run defeat in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, promises Head Coach Brendon McCullum, the inventor of Bazball.
England flew to their pre-series base, Abu Dhabi, on a chartered flight arranged by the BCCI for a break during which Ben Stokes and Co will indulge in some golf before returning to India in time for the Rajkot Test.
'There won't be a whole lot of training. We have had plenty of training days, two Tests, and this is an opportunity to step away from the heat of the battle,' McCullum was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper.
'Home for us is a little way away so we chose Abu Dhabi and we are going to enjoy the families (joining us). Then when we get to Rajkot, we drop the shoulder and go hard.'
'Drop the shoulder is a rugby term meaning a 'simple sidestep but effective and used to evade tacklers quickly'.
Jasprit Bumrah blew away England's batting line-up, claiming nine wickets in the Vizag Test as India levelled the five match series 1-1.
McCullum said the England batters are capable of working out their strategies on how to cope with Bumrah in the remaining three Tests.
'We don't really do theories. It is about making sure the guys are totally clear and present, confident and have conviction in their method. They are a lot better than I ever was and they will work out how best to go about it.'
'There are contrasting ways of going about it, and I have always said it is important to bounce off whoever you are batting with and the contrasting skills you possess. We will see where we get to.
'For now, we have to tip our cap to Jasprit and say that spell (in the first innings of the second Test) was as good as anything we have seen so far on this trip.'
'It is all condition-dependent. When the ball is swinging like that he becomes even more of a threat. He is a fantastic bowler in all forms of the game. He is unique with his release points and with how much swing he can generate in the air. No doubt he is very good, but we have come up against very good bowlers all through the last 18 months or so and found ways to counter them and that is what we have got to do in this one.'
The coach also gave his backing to senior batter Joe Root, who copped a lot of flak for his dismissal in the second innings of the Vizag Test, when he got a leading edge trying a reckless heave off Ravichandran Ashwin.
McCullum stated that England's batters will continue with their Bazball theory of attacking the bowlers.
'People will look at the dismissal but look at the method of his option. He was trying to get the field back so he could milk them. It is the bravery you have to take at times and sometimes you get out doing it. But that's just the way the game rolls,' McCullum said. 'There is no doubt from our point of view in that approach.'
'There are three Tests left; opportunity to score a ton of runs.'
