Last Updated on 1 month ago by Charbel Coorey
England’s mentality has come into question following comments from coach Brendon McCullum and batsman Zak Crawley during and after their Ashes series defeat in Adelaide.
England, who came into the series with optimism, lost the series in 11 days which means their wait for a first Ashes triumph since 2015 will continue. Comments that have come to light since did little to improve the mood of the English fans.
The first was Crawley’s which, remarkably, came before the Adelaide Test was even over. “We’ll never give up. The last two (2017/18 and 2021/22) we haven’t won a Test here in a while so it’s a chance to win those two Tests (MCG and SCG). If we can get it back to 3-2. Suddenly it’s a pretty good series. We were this close,” Crawley told the BBC, as quoted by news.com.au.
McCullum, whose job is under significant scrutiny, gave his reason as to why he’d like to stay on as coach. “It’s a pretty good gig. It’s good fun,” said McCullum, as quoted by the BBC. “You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things.”
Zak Crawley comments spark huge reaction
“This just can’t be a real quote? Please someone tell me it’s a parody,” wrote former England keeper-batsman Matt Prior on X (formerly Twitter) in relation to Crawley’s comments.
Crawley made 85 in the second innings at Adelaide. England ended day four at 207/6, still needing 228 for an improbable victory. However, a strong partnership from Will Jacks and Jamie Smith – plus a serious hamstring injury for Nathan Lyon – meant England were in with a chance.
However, England’s poor decision-making came to the fore once again as Smith was dismissed playing a very rash shot to Mitchell Starc.
Brendon McCullum accused of not reading the room
“Yeah, I’m now convinced it’s a deliberate wind up,” wrote England fan Adam Sutherland in response to McCullum’s “good fun” comment.
“Lost track of how many times I’ve lost my head on this tour. Add this to the list. Unspeakably tone deaf,” was another reaction.
The priority now for England is winning the Boxing Day Test. Victory for Ben Stokes’ team at the MCG will ensure they don’t break the record for the most consecutive winless Tests in Australia. The current record is 18, held by England (2013-2025) and New Zealand (1985-2011).
