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head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted for the first time that mistakes in England’s Ashes preparations played a role in his team’s collapse.
A team that traveled with the wind in its sails and high expectations has been brutally humiliated AustraliaWho have again secured the title with a hat-trick of spectacular wins in Perth, Brisbane and now Adelaide.
England The test match finally reached the fifth day South AustraliaMaking a spirited effort to chase down the world record target of 435 but ultimately fell short by 82 runs.
It has been a difficult experience for a team whose staunch ‘baseball’ style has gradually been worn down by the relentless class of their opponents.
He has been criticized for taking the build-up period too lightly – whether it was solitary practice against the England Lions on a slow pitch, refusing to take a day-night practice match before the floodlit second Test or a mid-series beach break for Noosa – with a range of former England captains among those to have their say.
After previously deflecting attention from that investigation, notably saying that his team had “over-prepared” for the second Test, McCullum changed his tune and accepted his share of the blame.
“As a coach you look back at certain things, of course you do and ultimately you are responsible for how you prepare your team and how they prepare,” he said.
“I was confident, we were confident in our approach – leading not just in the first Test but also in the middle of the Test. I look back now and think, ‘Did we need more leadership in the first and did we need less leadership in the second?’
“These are the changes you look at over time and say would I have done it differently? In retrospect, we lost 3-0 so you would probably say there was room for change there.
“Again, you put your hand up as a coach and said maybe you haven’t got this right. At the time I thought it would give us our best chance because it’s been done before. But sitting here 3-0, it just didn’t work.”
captain ben stokesWho spoke about his dreams of becoming an Ashes-winning captain on the eve of the series, has been stunned by the events of recent weeks.
He has taken upon himself a considerable burden of work, has made repeated appeals to see more from his side, and has ultimately come up empty-handed. But, with there still being two games left to play, he vowed to go to Well.
He said, “It hurts and it sucks. It’s very frustrating to know that we can’t accomplish what we wanted to do here.”
“It’s a very emotional time for me in the dressing room and for the people, the players, the management, backroom things. I don’t like to dwell in the past because you can never change what you’ve done… it’s what you do out there that matters and we just couldn’t cope with the attack that Australia threw at us.”
“We have not been able to withstand the hitting that Australia has done. But we still have two games left in the series and have a lot to play for individually and as a team.
“We will not look back and kick the stumps because we have a lot to play for.”
At 34 and with serious wear and tear on his body, there is little chance of Stokes being around when England next visit these parts in four years. But he has been centrally contracted for the next 18 months, meaning his last chance to reclaim the Ashes urn for his country on home soil in 2027.
Asked if he had the energy and desire to continue leading the team, he said in one word: “Absolutely.”