England's Ashes collapse blamed on poor prep, with coach McCullum taking responsibility.

England head coach Brendon McCullum admitted his team was poorly prepared for the Ashes series, acknowledging a 3-0 defeat to Australia was due to flawed planning, including skipped warm-up matches and over-intense training. He said England only played their best cricket in the final two days of the Adelaide Test, when players were freed from pressure, and accepted responsibility for the team's lack of consistency and adaptability. Despite a resilient lower-order effort in the final innings, England struggled with batting, bowling, and fielding throughout the series. McCullum emphasized the need to better manage player mindset under pressure and learn from the experience ahead of the next Test in Melbourne.