Following the setback, Brendon McCullum, the head coach of England, thought back on the disastrous loss and considered the strategy for the rest of the series. He explained how his side was unable to fight even though they were well-prepared. But according to the coach, he wants the players to feel rejuvenated, and they are doing so by drinking a few beers.
In the second Test of the continuing Ashes 2025–26, which took place at the Gabba in Brisbane in just four days of play, England suffered a terrible defeat. Australia made a mockery of the English attack by chasing down the target like a formality, giving them a 2-0 series lead and virtually eliminating the visitors’ chances of winning the Ashes again.
To be honest, I thought that we overprepared for this test match, therefore I guess we’ll definitely have a beer tonight before we play. During our five days of rigorous training, McCullum stated via 7Cricket, “I believe that sometimes, as we all know, the most important thing is to feel a little fresh and make sure your top two inches are completely sound when you’re in the heat of the battle.”
The former New Zealand international also believes that it is his responsibility as a coach to make sure the players learn from their errors and correct them by making adjustments to their training regimen.
According to McCullum, the team will also take some time off from cricket entirely in order to ensure that they are rested and rejuvenated when they play again.
“The lads simply require a few days off, and it’s likely that some of the training techniques will need to be modified. You wouldn’t simply keep doing the same thing with your horse, and I’m a man who loves horse racing. To attempt to turn it on a little, you would send it over the small leaps or around in figure eights.
Therefore, over the next days, we’ll examine some different approaches,” McCullum continued.
“We’ve got a couple of days in Noosa, which would be good to spend a bit of time casually and just let the dust settle on what’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks and start to plot and plan our way back into the series,” he said.
At the storied Adelaide Oval, the third Test is set to start on December 17. The Australians will take an unbeatable advantage and retain the Ashes if the Ben Stoked-led team loses this match. It will be intriguing to see how England alters their style of play for the remainder of the tour in Australia, since Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are expected to return to the Australian lineup.
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