Brendon McCullum has issued a firm message to his England side after their heavy eight-wicket defeat to Australia in the opening Test of the Ashes 2025–26. The England head coach made it clear that while the loss in Perth was painful, it is crucial for the team to avoid overreacting or allowing the setback to derail their belief and unity.
McCullum admitted that the crushing result was felt not only by the squad but also by everyone who supports the England Test team. According to him, the real challenge for Ben Stokes and his men now lies in ensuring that the disappointment does not affect the confidence they have built or push them away from the strategic direction they have committed to.
“We’ve been trying to insulate against reacting too strongly. We know it’ll hurt, not just us but all the people who follow this cricket team as well,” McCullum told TNT Sports after the defeat.
“There will be a lot of chatter. For us it’s about making sure we don’t allow our confidence and our camaraderie to dip too low. We know that at our best we’re a very good cricket team. We’ve now got an extended amount of time off to get ready for Brisbane. We’ve done it before,” he added.
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England are now preparing for the second Test in Brisbane on December 4, hoping to make a strong comeback after the opening setback.
McCullum also reserved high praise for Travis Head, whose sensational counterattacking century shifted the momentum entirely in Australia’s favour. Head blasted a 69-ball hundred while chasing 205, on a pitch that had already produced 30 wickets across just five sessions. McCullum acknowledged that England had believed a target of 200 was defendable, but Head’s onslaught turned the situation decisively.
“I thought 200 was a good score for us to try to defend. The way Travis Head played was absolutely outstanding. It’s one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen in a pressure situation on a tough wicket. He knocked us off our lengths. We wanted to try to hold length as long as we possibly could but he put us under so much pressure that we couldn’t do it,” he said.
McCullum also revealed a conversation with Adam Gilchrist before the final innings.
“I spoke to [Adam Gilchrist] just before the last innings and he said, ‘I think you guys have got 30 too many.’ We might have needed another 230 the way Travis played. If someone delivers a performance like that, you have to tip your cap. Yes, we’ll look at how we can control things better if that confronts us again, but you’ve got to acknowledge how special a knock that was, especially as he was out of position as well. I thought it was a brave call from the Australian captain and coach. Clearly they wanted to make the ball soft as soon as possible. He was superb,” McCullum concluded.
England will now look to regroup and respond strongly when the Ashes battle resumes in Brisbane.
