McCullum Confirms England to Retain Batting Line-up for Third Ashes Test

England coach Brendon McCullum confirmed the team would not make knee-jerk changes to their top seven.

England will retain their same batting line-up for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Coach Brendon McCullum strongly backed his top seven, warning against panic changes after losing the first two Tests.

Only Joe Root averages above 30 in the series. Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith have come under scrutiny after low scores in Perth and Brisbane.

Sticking With a Settled Unit Is The Key

McCullum dismissed suggestions of changing the batters. “I wouldn’t have thought so,” McCullum said before England’s training session in Adelaide on Sunday, when asked if they would consider making changes to the top seven.

“From our point of view, we’ve had a top seven now for a period of time and we’ve been reasonably successful with it. 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, and that can happen at times.” McCullum said.

He emphasized the team’s philosophy. “But for us to go on and win this series, it’s not about throwing out what has been successful for us over the last few years. It’s about having more conviction… Knee-jerk reactions, and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups, is not really our way,” McCullum said.

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The team may change its bowling attack, with Josh Tongue under consideration. A decision is also pending on whether to play spinner Shoaib Bashir or all-rounder Will Jacks.

McCullum acknowledged the team’s poor position but stressed the need for belief. “We came with high hopes, and at the moment we are not living up to it. If we win this game after what’s been a long nine days… then I think things shift about a bit,” McCullum said.

He warned that the series could slip away completely without conviction. “If you don’t, 2-0 can become 5-0 real quick, and that hasn’t worked for anyone,” McCullum concluded.