{"id":631396,"date":"2025-12-14T06:19:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/631396\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T06:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:19:30","slug":"brendon-mccullum-backs-in-england-top-seven-for-crunch-ashes-test-as-he-shrugs-off-questions-about-job-england-cricket-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/631396\/","title":{"rendered":"Brendon McCullum backs in England top seven for crunch Ashes Test as he shrugs off questions about job | England cricket team"},"content":{"rendered":"

The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes<\/a> Test and flip a narrative that has already featured talk of a whitewash bubble up.<\/p>\n

At 2-0 down with three to play, all wriggle room has disappeared for England. But talk of Ollie Pope potentially being dropped, or even Ben Stokes moving to No 3, was shot down by McCullum as his players resumed training on Sunday afternoon. No going back now was the message.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have thought so,\u201d replied McCullum when asked whether a batting lineup averaging 22 to Australia\u2019s 37 needed freshening up when the third Test gets under way at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese conditions [in Adelaide] should suit the style of batters that we\u2019ve got as well. We know we haven\u2019t got enough runs so far in this series. We\u2019ve been in positions where we could have and made some mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not about throwing out what has been successful for us over the last few years. It\u2019s about having more conviction. Kneejerk reactions or chopping and changing settled batting lineups is not really our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for whether a slide to 3-0 down could cost him his job \u2013 two years left on his contract and likely to cost the England and Wales Cricket<\/a> Board a seven-figure sum \u2013 McCullum replied: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really bother me, to be honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I certainly don\u2019t coach to protect the job. I coach to get the best out of people. I firmly believe that if we play our best cricket, we are a massive chance in this Test match. If we do that, then the narrative changes and the series momentum changes. But it\u2019s all in front of us to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there are changes to the England XI then they look likely to come with the ball, with Josh Tongue being primed to make his first appearance since the English summer. One of Gus Atkinson (three wickets at 78) or Brydon Carse (nine at 26 but hemorrhaging more than five an over) could drop out.<\/p>\n

McCullum said: \u201cEveryone knows what [Tongue] brings: high pace, hits the wicket hard from a fuller length, and he can swing and reverse swing the ball and reverse swing the ball. If that\u2019s what we deem is going to be most successful then he\u2019ll get a run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jofra Archer in action during the second Test at the Gabba. Photograph: Nigel Owen\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

One man McCullum is throwing his support around is Jofra Archer, not least given some of the (chiefly Australian) criticism that met his fiery late spell in Brisbane when the match was essentially lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you mope around bowling 75mph in that last innings then the narrative would be very different,\u201d McCullum said. \u201cThe skipper asked [the players] not to mope around, not to feel sorry for themselves. \u2018We have been outplayed in this game but we have the opportunity with 60 odd runs to fire some bullets.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJofra has a very good ability to go through the gears. Because he\u2019s got an easy action, I think it can be often misinterpreted as bowling within himself. Sometimes you need to bowl within yourself to be a little bit more accurate and give yourself the best chance to zero in on someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

If, as appears the case, the structure of the side remains the same then another spot up for grabs is the spinner. Will Jacks is the incumbent from Brisbane but Shoaib Bashir having been backed for two years with, one would think, this particular venue in mind. Neither will strike fear into Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about fighting the war\u2019s that\u2019s been. It\u2019s focusing on the one that\u2019s coming,\u201d McCullum added, without committing either way.<\/p>\n

McCullum added: \u201c[The trip was intended] to dissect what had been, but not be too bound by it, then plot and plan our way back into the series in a relaxed setting. You can\u2019t walk away and start pointing fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you remain tight as a group? And what do you need to do to be successful in the conditions and situation you are up against? Do that, and you give yourself a chance. If you don\u2019t, 2-0 can become 5-0 real quick \u2013 and that hasn\u2019t worked for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-631396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115716473685523643","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}