McCullum may see himself in Crawley but struggling in spotlight is tough place to be | Mark Ramprakash

To say poor scores are acceptable is to judge him differently to every opening batter who has ever been selected for England

After the hammering England took against a well-organised and talented South Africa side, it would be easy to jump on the bandwagon and pour criticism on the players and their approach. Personally I commend Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes for challenging convention since taking over as coach and captain of the Test team, which desperately needed a shot in the arm.

They have said from the start that it will be an up‑and‑down ride, that bumps in the road such as the defeat by South Africa last week are part of the process. However, there are clearly some legitimate questions and areas of discussion.