The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes Test and flip a narrative that has already featured talk of a whitewash bubble up.
At 2-0 down with three to play, all wiggle room has disappeared for England. But talk of Ollie Pope potentially being dropped, or even Ben Stokes moving to No 3, was shot down by McCullum as his players resumed training in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon. No going back now was the message.
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” replied McCullum when asked whether a batting lineup averaging 22 to Australia’s 37 needed freshening up when the third Test gets under way at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
“These conditions should suit the style of batters that we’ve got as well. We know we haven’t got enough runs so far in this series. We’ve been in positions where we could have and made some mistakes.
“But it’s not about throwing out what has been successful for us over the last few years. It’s about having more conviction. Kneejerk reactions or chopping and changing settled batting lineups is not really our way.”
As for whether a slide to 3-0 down could cost him his job – he has two years left on his contract and sacking him would likely cost the England and Wales Cricket Board a seven-figure sum – McCullum replied: “It doesn’t really bother me, to be honest. But I certainly don’t coach to protect the job. I coach to get the best out of people.
“I firmly believe that if we play our best cricket, we are a massive chance in this Test match. If we do that, then the narrative changes and the series momentum changes. But it’s all in front of us to achieve.”
Pope appeared the most vulnerable after the eight-wicket defeat at the Gabba but only Joe Root, who made a century, is averaging north of 30 so far. The only changes to the England XI appear to relate to the bowling attack, which flew out of the traps at Perth but has been hugely ill-disciplined since.
Josh Tongue is being primed to make his first appearance since the English summer. One of Gus Atkinson, three wickets at 78, or Brydon Carse, nine at 26 but haemorrhaging more than five runs an over, could drop out. Only taking 20 wickets, three Tests on the bounce, will win back the urn.
McCullum said of Tongue: “Everyone knows what he brings: high pace, hits the wicket hard from a fuller length, and he can swing and reverse swing the ball. If that’s what we deem is going to be most successful then he’ll get a run.”
One man McCullum is throwing his support around is Jofra Archer, not least given some of the (chiefly Australian) criticism that met his fiery late spell in Brisbane when the match was in effect lost. As has been the case for much of his stop-start Test career, Archer’s speeds remain a talking point, even if the data shows his drop off throughout a match is no different to others’.
“If you mope around bowling 75mph in that last innings then the narrative would be very different,” McCullum said.
“The skipper asked [the players] not to mope around, not to feel sorry for themselves. We have been outplayed in this game but we have the opportunity with 60-odd runs to fire some bullets.
“Jofra has a very good ability to go through the gears. Because he’s got an easy action, I think it can be often misinterpreted as bowling within himself. Sometimes you need to bowl within yourself to be a little bit more accurate and give yourself the best chance to zero in on someone.”
If, as appears the case, the structure of the side remains the same, then another spot up for grabs is the spinner. Will Jacks is the incumbent from Brisbane but Shoaib Bashir has been backed for two years with, one would think, this particular venue in mind. Neither will strike fear into Australia.
“It’s not about fighting the war’s that’s been. It’s focusing on the one that’s coming,” McCullum added, without committing either way.
McCullum continued: “[The trip was intended] to dissect what had been, but not be too bound by it, then plot and plan our way back into the series in a relaxed setting. You can’t walk away and start pointing fingers.
“How do you remain tight as a group? And what do you need to do to be successful in the conditions and situation you are up against? Do that, and you give yourself a chance. If you don’t, 2-0 can become 5-0 real quick – and that hasn’t worked for anyone.”
