Coach McCullum proud of England performance

England coach Brendon McCullum said the team’s fightback to draw a “heavyweight” Ashes series against Australia justified their attacking approach and provided them with a template to regain the urn in 2025/26.
McCullum has helped transform England’s red-ball fortunes since joining forces with captain Ben Stokes last year, with the pair taking over a team that had won just one of its 17 previous Tests.
England have won 13 out of 18 Tests under the duo, playing a dynamic brand of cricket dubbed “Bazball” in reference to former New Zealand captain McCullum’s nickname.
“I guess from our point of view the most pleasing aspect is when we were under the most pressure at 2-0 down we stayed true to that and were able to manufacture some results that allowed us to walk away at 2-2,” said McCullum.
“I think for us that is our best chance of winning. The skipper (Stokes) and I firmly believe that and some of the performances we’ve seen from some of the guys right throughout is testament to that.
“If you’re weighed down by fear of failure or by external noise, all you’re doing is suffocating that talent.”
England were criticised by several former players for being too aggressive early in an Ashes they might have won but for the Manchester weather.
However, McCullum said: “We refined it (our approach) slightly as the series wore on.
“I think both sides have stayed true to their styles and that’s what makes a great heavyweight fight. It’s two different styles and total conviction in them.”
The Oval match saw the retiring England duo of paceman Stuart Broad and spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali bow out of Test cricket on a high.
Other places in the attack may have to be filled by the time England travel to Australia, with veteran swing bowler James Anderson now 41 and the likes of Chris Woakes (34) and Mark Wood (33) well into their respective careers.
Nevertheless, McCullum was encouraged by what he had seen from among those currently pushing to get into the England side.
“We’re starting to build some nice depth in batting and bowling as well, so that’s encouraging and will pose some good conversations moving forward,” he said.
England ‘walked the walk’ to level series: StokesEngland captain Ben Stokes said the 2-2 draw in the Ashes series showed his side had “walked the walk” after losing the first two Tests against Australia, which made every test thereafter “a do-or-die situation”.
“It was a fair reflection of two good teams playing completely different styles of cricket. But each tried to play the cricket that brought the best out of them as a team,” Stokes told the BBC.
It also showed the team’s ability to fight their way back from a huge deficit, he said.
“Going 2-0 down, I don’t think many teams would be able to find a way back from that. We knew we had to force it from the second game onwards. Hand on heart, I think 2-2 is a fair reflection of where the two teams are at the moment,” he said.