Brendon McCullum doubles down again with Ashes on the line

SYDNEY: Brendon McCullum said there will be no major changes to England’s approach in the third Ashes test with the coach hoping for better execution from his players in what he expects to be more conducive conditions in Adelaide.

New Zealander McCullum has come under fire for his aggressive approach to the game after England slumped to losses by eight wickets in two days in Perth, and four days in Brisbane.

Another defeat in Adelaide, where the third test starts on Wednesday, means the end of England’s hopes of wresting back the Ashes and exposes the tourists to the possibility of the dreaded 5-0 whitewash.

“We came here with high hopes and high expectations. We had a plan that we felt was going to give ourselves the best chance of being successful,” McCullum told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

“We haven’t quite executed that so far, and Australia has seized those key moments and hence they sit 2-0 up.

“It doesn’t mean that we throw that plan out. We just need to chisel away at some of the things we haven’t got quite right and make sure that we still have that conviction of what we’re trying to achieve.

“I think these conditions should suit our style a little bit better as well … this is probably more attuned to our best style of cricket.”

Several of England’s batters have struggled for runs in Australia but McCullum said wholesale changes to the line-up for Adelaide were highly unlikely.

“We’ve had a top seven now for a period of time, and we’ve been reasonably successful with it,” he said.

“We know we haven’t got enough runs so far in the series … but for us to go on and win the series, it’s not about throwing out what’s been successful.

“It’s about having more conviction. It’s about making sure that we have our plans and our disciplines around it. Just screw it down a touch more. Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our thing.”

McCullum, who took over as a coach in May 2022, said the last thing on his mind was the security of his own job.

“You do the job to the best of your ability. You have conviction in what you’re doing, and whatever happens, happens,” he said.

“I certainly don’t coach to protect a job. I coach to get the best out of people … and that won’t be changing this week, just because the prize is at its highest.

“I firmly believe if we play our best cricket, we’re a massive chance in this test match. If we do that, then the narrative changes, the series momentum changes.”

McCullum also addressed an incident at the airport over the weekend when team security ushered Australian media away from the players.

“I think we’ve been very respectful right throughout this tour,” he said.

“We knew that the scrutiny … would be more extreme than we’re used to and I think over the last few weeks, I think we’ve dealt with it really well.”