England must accept Ashes backlash, says McCullum

England must accept Ashes backlash, says McCullumImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Brendon McCullum took charge of the England Test team in 2022ByStephan ShemiltCricket CorrespondentPublished29 May 2026, 14:17 BST2 CommentsUpdated Just nowHead coach Brendon McCullum said England must deal with the "backlash" to their dismal 4-1 defeat in Australia.England were widely criticised for their approach on and off the field down under, when they were thought to have a superb opportunity to regain the Ashes, only to be soundly beaten by a below-strength Australia team.McCullum has kept his job following a review into the tour and will lead England into the first Test against his native New Zealand at Lord's on Thursday."There was huge hopes and ambitions for success down in Australia and we didn't get it right," McCullum told BBC Sport. "We had our chance, we didn't take it and we got beat."It hurt. It hurt the players, it hurt the players' families, the support staff, all the fans that travelled from England all the way out to Australia and all the fans watching worldwide."Now you have got to handle a little bit of the backlash of what has happened since."In a wide-ranging interview, McCullum said:England can rebuild trust with supporters by winning the biggest matches and serieshe overestimated his team's preparedness for the pressure of an away Ashes seriesEngland must use the experience in Australia "as a lesson"accepted he is not everyone's "cup of tea"he is considering switching captain Ben Stokes and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith at number six and seven in the batting orderEngland's style of play under McCullum and captain Ben Stokes has come in for attention since they took charge of the Test team in 2022.Initially, their 'Bazball' style brought immediate success, with 10 wins from their first 11 Tests at the helm.But since those first 11 matches, England have...