Brendon McCullum stayed calm in Perth, yet there was no hiding from the figures. England’s 82-run defeat in the third Test has handed Australia the series, 3-0, with two matches still to play. It also stretches England’s winless run in Australia to 18 Tests, only two of which have been draws.
The head coach did not sugar-coat the situation. “I don’t know,” he replied when asked if he will still be in charge come the first Test of the 2026 English summer. “It’s not really up to me, is it?”
England under McCullum and captain Ben Stokes launched the Bazball era with 13 wins from 17, but momentum has slipped. Since January 2024, their record reads 12 wins, 13 defeats. A five-match series victory continues to elude them; four attempts, four failures.
Preparations for this tour will come under heavy review. A solitary three-day hit-out against England Lions at Lilac Hill was the only match practice before the real thing. Stokes conceded his side had been “poor”, yet doubled down on remaining skipper. Critics argue the group misread local conditions and, at times, needed firmer direction—areas that ultimately land on the coach’s desk.
McCullum’s contract, extended to 2027 by managing director Rob Key earlier this year, also encompasses the white-ball teams. Releasing him could cost the ECB in excess of £1 million. Whether the board chooses that route, or offers public backing, will become clearer when Key speaks on Tuesday.
For now, the New Zealander is determined to squeeze something from the remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. “I’ll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that [we] haven’t quite got right here and try to make some adjustments,” he said. “Those questions are for someone else, not for me.”
He remains upbeat about the role itself. “It’s a pretty good gig. It’s good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things … For me, it’s a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them.”
McCullum added: “Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I’m enjoying the time that I’ve got with these guys and I think we’ve made some progress from when I took over to where we are. We’re not the finished article, but I think we’ve definitely improved as a cricket team. We’ve had an identity about us. Now’s the time for us in the last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from it.”
Analytically, England’s batting has often looked high-risk even on surfaces offering extra bounce and pace. The bowlers, meanwhile, lacked a decisive cutting edge without the injured Mark Wood, leaving Stokes turning repeatedly to an overworked Ollie Robinson. Adjustments for the Boxing Day Test may involve a recall for either Chris Woakes or Matthew Potts, both capable of tighter new-ball spells.
Whatever the tweaks, the wider question lingers: can the Bazball blueprint thrive overseas, or does it need a recalibration? McCullum wants to be around to find out, but, as he admitted, the final call is out of his hands.
