"Need to stay true to their method" - Brendon McCullum backs England to revive their 2023 World Cup campaign despite setbacks

England Test team's coach Brendon McCullum has thrown his weight behind Jos Buttler and co. to revive their 2023 World Cup campaign. McCullum reckons they must continue what brought them success and an odd day shouldn't change their plans.

The defending champions have looked shaky in the ongoing competition, losing two out of three games, including a shock defeat against Afghanistan in Delhi. England struggled to combat the three-proned spin attack of Afghanistan, falling 69 runs short of chasing the target of 285.

It leaves them to win all their remaining games, with the likes of South Africa, India, and Australia lined up among those.

Speaking to Mirror Sport, McCullum said that it's not always smooth sailing during World Cups and that there's a reason England have won two ICC events. The 42-year-old has backed England to iron out any flaws in the upcoming matches.

He said:

"They just need to stay true to their method and their style which has brought them so much success and not get shaken by the odd bad day at the office. Of course the boys would have liked to be 3 and 0, but sport doesn’t work like that and sometimes you have to cope with challenges and then show how good you are.

"One thing is for sure, there are good reasons why England have won two World Cups recently. They are doing a great job and have done so for a long time and I’m just looking forward to seeing them show their quality over the next few weeks."

The defending champions were under pressure against Afghanistan from the outset as the latter scored a match-winning total of 284. Harry Brook top-scored with 66, but didn't get the required support from the other batters.

"There is going to be the odd upset" - Brendon McCullum

Afghanistan defeated England for the first time in any format. (Credits: Twitter)

McCullum believes World Cups will produce unexpected results, citing the example of South Africa going down to the Netherlands despite being the overwhelming favorites. He explained:

"It is a World Cup, so there is going to be the odd upset and that is what you want in a tournament like this. Look at what happened to South Africa. That was a strong win from the Dutch and there will be other unexpected results before the tournament is over.

"Playing cricket in India against the nine other top nations in a World Cup is never going to be a walk in the park, but this is what they boys play the game for. This is what gets them excited and I’m sure that we will see the best of them soon enough."

England are likely to make at least two changes for the game against South Africa in Mumbai on October 21.