New England head coach Brendon McCullum has gone all-in with a warning to his side. He warned that they have “no hope” of coming back in the current Ashes series if they enter it with a “glass jaw.” England goes into halftime down 2-0 to Australia. They must rise to a tall order as they look ahead to the third Test, which will take place in Adelaide on December 17. A tall order awaits the big blue paradise state’s pitch team. They’ve never failed to go on to win an Ashes series after taking a 2-0 lead.
The team’s recent performance has raised concerns. After blowing their chance to win the Ashes with defeat in the second Test in Brisbane, England are now winless in 17 trips Down Under. Since 2011, 15 of those contests have resulted in defeat. For England, it was an unhappy opening Test in Perth. They were then bowled out for only 172 and 164, with awful collapses of seven wickets for just 78 runs and 9 wickets for 99 runs. Their disaster story resumed in Brisbane as they fell apart, losing six wickets in 80 runs in their second innings.
As the pressure mounts, McCullum acknowledged the need for possible changes to the team lineup for the upcoming Adelaide match. He emphasized the importance of resilience, stating, “Ultimately, you can’t afford to flinch when you come down here.” He further remarked, “You come to this country and have a glass jaw, you have no chance. You have to be strong, tough, and you have to get on with it.”
To recharge, England will be escaping to the resort town of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. They have agreed to devote some of the time between their Tests there. The England players went on to train for five straight days in Brisbane prior to the second Test, something labelled as “overkill” by McCullum. As they look ahead, they’ll have to scale back training to three days in the run up to the Adelaide game.
Even though they were suffering through it all, McCullum was sure of the quality within his squad. He stated, “I’ve stressed that we have the squad that we’ve got. There’s no sense looking elsewhere. We’re confident in everyone and that hasn’t changed. We’ve just got to find ways to go to get ourselves back into this contest.” He mentioned the team’s lack of competitive play prior to the series, noting they only participated in one match against England Lions.
For England to win the Ashes, they must now win all three of these Tests. Only then can they even begin to get close to a first Ashes victory since 2015. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and McCullum is adamant that his players need to be all in. He said, “This is not a country where you can expect to be anything other than fully committed to what you’re doing.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board is seeking discussions with Cricket Australia regarding future Ashes arrangements, including the 2027 series in the UK and the 2029-30 series in Australia.
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