England fans have been urged to “keep the faith” by Brendon McCullum following the tourists’ two-day Ashes defeat in Perth, with the head coach also giving his backing to Zak Crawley after the opening game.
England crumbled to a spectacular defeat at Optus Stadium as an Ashes Test ended within two days for the first time since 1921, with the away side suffering alarming collapses in both innings.
The second Test, a day-evening in Brisbane, starts on December 4.
McCullum said: “We are bitterly disappointed for ourselves but also for all the fans who have turned up here to support us so well.
“I would say keep the faith. We have a talented group, we believe in each other and are pretty equal.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. But our best method to get back into it is to do what we’ve done before under pressure, which is to stay tight and keep moving toward the goal.
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Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain looks at how England were beaten by Travis Head in Perth and how they will now be ‘hammered’ by the media
“We go to Brisbane with high hopes and high expectations and see where we are.
“We cannot bear this [result] to the next one. For a while we have tried to insulate against things going wrong.
“For us, this connection and camaraderie is something we’re proud of. We’re going to need it over the next few days.”
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Nasser and fellow Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton were mobbed by fans when they recorded their Ashes review podcast on Saturday!
McCullum expects ‘bounce back’ from Crawley
Crawley registered the first pair for an England opener since Michael Atherton in Johannesburg in 1999, driving Mitchell Starc in the first over of both innings, with his Test average now falling below 31.
In 109 innings across 60 Tests, the right-hander has chalked up 44 single-figure dismissals.
McCullum added: “We believe he is a quality player, especially in these conditions against this kind of opposition. How many balls did he face? 10 or 11? He got out cheaply, but we believe in Zak.
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Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton and Hussain discuss how England can recover from shock two-day defeat to Australia
“He’s been around this group for a long time—the one [opening] The combination of Ben Duckett and Zak has allowed us to come into games as well as we think we can and I expect to see a strong return from Zak in the next little while.
“Sometimes you get off cheap, don’t you? It would have been nice if he hadn’t, but that’s life. If he can get off, he can do some damage.”
Talking about Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Former England seamer Stuart Broad said Crawley would be “devastated” and in “a terrible place” after how the Perth Test went for him.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times Great Britain and Ireland
- First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second test (day/night): Thursday 4 December – Monday 8 December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth test: Sunday 4th January – Thursday 8th January (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground