The Ashes 2025-26: Brendon McCullum wants to stay as England coach

“I’m enjoying the time that I’ve got with these guys and we’ve made some progress from when I took over to where we are,” he said.

“We’re not the finished article, but 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.”

The defeat in Adelaide extended England’s winless run in Tests in Australia to 18 matches. They have not won a series in this country since 2010-11.

In once again going 3-0 down after three matches, they are left to battle against the indignity of a 5-0 clean sweep. Three previous England teams have lost Ashes series 5-0 in Australia.

England could drop batter Ollie Pope for the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a crowd touching 100,000 is expected. Jacob Bethell is the reserve batter in the tourists’ squad.

If England freshen up their pace attack, Brydon Carse seems the most likely candidate to be left out.

The visitors also have a decision to make over Shoaib Bashir, who arrived in Australia as their first-choice spinner but has not featured in the first three Tests.

Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed is in Australia playing T20 cricket in the Big Bash, but McCullum said he will not look outside his 16-man squad for reinforcements.

“I can’t imagine we’ll bring anyone in from the outside,” he said. “We’ll have to have a look at what the conditions are in Melbourne and work out what we think is going to be our best team for those conditions and that contest.”

Following defeat in the second Test in Brisbane, McCullum said his team could not have a “glass jaw”, while captain Stokes said Australia is “no place for weak men”.

Then, in the run-up to the third Test in Adelaide, Stokes admitted to having “raw” conversations with the England players about his message.

But opener Zak Crawley later claimed to not be aware of the “weak men” comments.

When McCullum was asked if the players still have faith in his method, he replied: “I hope so. You’ll have to ask them.

“I’ll always have the back of my players, and always support them, and I’ll always make sure that I’m protective of them as well in a public forum.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t challenge privately, but in a public forum, you’re always protective. I guess you’ll have to ask those questions elsewhere, but I wouldn’t imagine anything would change in the coming days as we look to try and salvage something from this.”