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‘I put my hands up’ – McCullum admits Ashes mistakes

Coach Brendon McCullum accepted England may have made mistakes with their Ashes preparation after their series defeat was confirmed in Adelaide.

Despite some fight from the tourists, Australia completed an 82-run victory on the fifth day of the third Test to clinch the urn at the earliest possible opportunity.

England were heavily beaten in the first two Tests and their preparation, which included only one warm-up match against an England Lions development side before the series, has been widely questioned throughout.

“It is disappointing when you lose and I’m sure there will be plenty of questions asked and rightfully so,” McCullum said to BBC Test Match Special.

“We haven’t got everything right. I haven’t got everything right as a coach and I put my hand up for that.”

The futures of McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and managing director Rob Key will all be questioned following the defeat.

In arranging the game against the Lions, England replicated their preparations for other tours under this regime, including in India and Pakistan last year, in opting against warm-up matches.

McCullum’s comments were a change in tone for a hierarchy who usually remain resolute in backing their own decisions.

“I have been very strong about the conviction we had and our preparation and, you know, for us, it was a matter of trying to replicate what we have done in series that have been successful for us away from home,” McCullum said.

“Maybe we didn’t get that right and I’ll acknowledge that.”

He added: “Ultimately you are responsible for how you get your side ready and how you prepare them.

“We are 3-0 down so you would probably say there was room for change there.

“Again, you put your hand up as a coach and say you might not have got that right.

“At the same time I felt it would give us our best chance because it has previously. Sitting here 3-0, it didn’t work.”

Brendon McCullum has been England’s Test coach since the start of the 2022 home summer [Getty Images]

After losing the first Test in Perth in two days, England also decided against sending their first XI players to Canberra to play in a pink-ball practice match before the day-night second Test and instead arranged extra sessions in the nets at the Gabba.

McCullum suggested less time in training would have been more beneficial.

“The five intense training days leading into Brisbane when we knew it was going to be hot,” he said. “A few things you look at retrospectively.

“Your job as a coach is to try get performance on the field. I was confident we had it right but obviously we didn’t.”

In assessing the series, McCullum also said England’s bowlers had been unable to be “accurate and precise” with the ball and their batters failed to “score the volume of runs”. He also praised Australia as “as precise as a team as I have seen in the last few years”.

He said at times England were “so determined” and had “such high expectations” for the series that it “almost constrained us”.

A relaxed environment has been a hallmark of the McCullum-Stokes regime, as has an aggressive attitude with bat and ball.

“The last two days [in Adelaide] have been our best cricket and that is because we have just played,” he said.

“When you’re put under immense pressure, your decision making can become a little blurred at times and you don’t know whether to stick or twist.

“That’s probably the disappointing aspect because I did think we were rock hard in our belief of the style we were going to play when we were down here, knowing we were going to be challenged.

“But I do think we got a little bit stuck and, again, I’ll put my hand up as coach and say there should have been that absolute clarity of ‘whatever happens in this series, this is how we need to play’ because that is going to give us our best chance.”

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