England in-tray: McCullum says he knows what went wrong in the Ashes – but can he fix it?

England head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted that some of his players were not as prepared for the pressure of the Ashes series in Australia as he had anticipated, calling it essentially a coaching failure. McCullum acknowledged that his philosophy of removing pressure from players was insufficient on its own, and that more tactical drilling and clarity is needed. England now face a first Test against New Zealand at Lord's next week, with McCullum outlining five key challenges to address in the buildup.