England head coach Brendon McCullum, who has found himself under scrutiny after England’s torrid Ashes campaign in Australia, offered an awkward and measured response to a pointed question from former England captain Nasser Hussain following the tourists’ 4-1 series defeat.

England were outplayed for long periods of the series, with Australia completely imposing their dominance. In the wake of the defeat, calls have emerged for changes at the top. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed it will conduct a thorough review of the tour to assess what went wrong. McCullum, who took charge in 2022, has been a central figure in England’s recent transformation. Under his leadership, the team embraced an ultra-aggressive style of play that came to be known as “Bazball.” After England's defeat, in an interview with Sky Sports, when questioned by Hussain about whether England would change their approach following the defeat, McCullum was quick to snap back.

"I sort of take offence to that, to be honest, Nas. I have conviction in my methods, but I'm not rigid in my beliefs," McCullum said.

"When you're in the chair of being in charge of a team - not just the players, but support staff and management - you need to be very convinced in how you're gonna lead."

"It doesn't mean that you're blind to progress and evolution, but you have to have conviction in what you believe in. I have conviction in my methods, it doesn't mean I'm not rigid in the belief that I think we can continue to grow and progress."

"But to throw out everything that's worked and throw out what we've been able to achieve over the last little while, in pursuit of something that's completely unknown, doesn't make any sense."

There was, however, one positive for England. A dominant victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day delivered a rare bright spot, ending a 15-year wait for a Test win in Australia. That result helped England avoid a humiliating 5-0 whitewash