England cricket team head coach Brendon McCullum has taken a sharp dig at former captain and commentator Michael Vaughan over Ben Stokes’ suggestion before the third Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
The touring team has already lost the first two Tests, with Australia taking a 2-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series. Despite suffering another Test series defeat, England are determined to stick to their existing plan for the third Test starting in Adelaide on December 17.
Brendon McCullum takes dig at Michael Vaughan as England reject Ben Stokes’ move to No. 3
McCullum has made it clear that he will keep the same top seven batsmen who have been England’s first choice for the last 18 months. He is cautioning against making sudden changes just because the team has struggled at the start of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26.
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England’s batting has been a big problem for them so far on the tour. In the first two Tests, he was out for 172, 164, 334 and 241 runs. Only Joe Root has been successful in maintaining an average above 30. Players like Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith failed to make major contributions, while Jacob Bethel is waiting in the wings as a backup batsman.
Recently Michael Vaughan has suggested changes in the batting order. He believes that captain Ben Stokes, who is technically strong with the bat, should come in at No. 3. Vaughan believes this could give the batting lineup more stability and firepower in tough Australian conditions.
Brendon McCullum confirms there will be no changes to the batting order for the Adelaide Test
Stokes’ ability to handle tough bowling could be crucial if England want to survive the ongoing Ashes series. However, McCullum’s focus is on keeping the team stable rather than reacting to early setbacks. He believes Adelaide’s conditions, which are less extreme in pace and bounce than Perth and Brisbane, will be better for the current batting lineup.
“I wouldn’t have thought so. From our point of view, we’ve been in the top seven for a while, and we’ve been pretty successful in that. These conditions also have to suit the style of batsmen we have. We know we haven’t scored enough runs so far in this series. We’re in a position where we could have made some mistakes, and that can happen at times,” Brendon McCullum told reporters in Adelaide, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
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It’s about making sure we have our plans and the discipline we have – Brendon McCullum
He has stressed that England simply need confidence, discipline and belief in their abilities, and felt that systematically changing the batting order in response to early failures is not the way to succeed. “But for us to go on and win this series, it’s not about dismantling what has been successful for us over the last few years. It’s about having more conviction,” the England coach explained.
McCullum concluded by saying, “It’s about making sure our plans and our discipline around it are a bit more fluid; making sure that when we go out there, we have full confidence in what we are capable of achieving. Making knee-jerk reactions and cutting and changing systematic batting line-ups is not really our style.”
