England’s all-format coach Brendon McCullum is unsure of keeping his CV intact as he sounded doubtful of whether he will be England’s Test team coach next summer following the latest humiliation in the Ashes. England have lost all three Tests Down Under and have conceded the urn in just 11 days of action as their winless record in Australia extended to 18 matches.
The recent loss meant that England have not been able to win the Ashes for the fifth time. Meanwhile, McCullum, who was appointed the all-format captain earlier this year, wants to keep going in the same role but feels unsure of whether he will be able to do that.
“I don’t know,” McCullum said when asked whether he would be head coach of the Test side for the start of the 2026 English summer. “It’s not really up to me, is it?
“I’ll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that [we] haven’t quite got right here and try to make some adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me.
“It’s a pretty good gig. It’s good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things … For me, it’s a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them.
“Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I’m enjoying the time that I’ve got with these guys, and I think we’ve made some progress from when I took over to where we are. We’re not the finished article, but I think we’ve definitely improved as a cricket team. We’ve had an identity about us. Now’s the time for us in the last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from it.”
The two teams will now meet for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 onwards. McCullum looks forward to breaking the winless hoodoo and getting back among winning ways.
“Well, we’ve got to find a way to win the next one. If we can just play again, just find that beautiful state you can get in where you’re not restricted by the pressures and the expectations of everything. Acknowledge all of that, lean into it, and just accept that it’s going to be there, but then just go out, and when you cross the line, go out and just play the game.
“If we can do that, then we give ourselves a better chance. Camaraderie and morale will always be what they are within this group. We’ve tried to unite this team right throughout, and we try to ensure that everyone is putting into the bucket, and that will be no different over the coming days.
“This one is going to sting, no doubt. But we know we’ve got a job to do in Melbourne and in Sydney. If we can salvage something out of the next two Test matches, then that’s something,” he said.
</div>
