Brendon McCullum clarifies 'overprepared' stance

England head coach Brendon McCullum has clarified his post-Brisbane comments about England possibly having "overprepared," stating they were aimed at protecting the dressing room, as internal messaging can be interpreted differently publicly.

"Yeah, there's a couple of elements to it," McCullum said. "What you're saying to your dressing room is you're trying to evaluate where the team's at at the end of a Test match and a loss, knowing you have nine days before going back out. The messages to the guys are about shifting focus forward so that your confidence levels don't dip. Because when they do you have no chance. So what you say to them and then what you say in the media can be quite different."

McCullum reiterated that shielding players is central to his role, even under scrutiny. He stressed that "over prepared" was not a critique of work ethic, but of how England managed energy after a difficult loss.

"In terms of being over prepared, it's not about working the hardest. Working the hardest doesn't guarantee you success. What I meant is we had five intense training sessions. In my opinion we almost left ourselves a fraction short in terms of our energy and our ability to play what was in front of us, which on that wicket required quite a different game."

McCullum pointed to adaptability as key in Australian conditions. "You have to think on your feet. You have to be able to manoeuvre your game. You have to be able to identify risk. If you over prepare or over train based on how many balls you hit on a true surface it can leave you a little bit ill prepared. There is no perfect preparation. You need an edge about when you enter a game."

That edge, he said, comes from freshness, something he accepted responsibility for misjudging. "You need to be mentally fresh. You need to be physically fresh. And five intense training sessions on the back of a difficult loss [in Perth] I don't think necessarily gave us our best chance. And I'll wear that. I'm happy to wear that as leader. It's best if the focus is on me not the others."

Asked if his position was under threat if unable to engineer a comeback, McCullum remained unconcerned. "I don't know, but it doesn't really bother me. You have conviction in what you're doing and whatever happens, happens. I certainly don't coach to protect a job. I coach to get the best out of people."

That conviction, he insisted, would not change with the series on the line. "We'll remain committed to what we're doing. I firmly believe if we play our best cricket, we have a massive chance in this Test match. If we do that, then the narrative changes and the series momentum changes but it's all in front of us."

McCullum acknowledged this Ashes series could shape perceptions of his tenure but maintained faith in the broader plan. "We came here with high hopes and high expectations. We haven't quite executed that so far and Australia receives those key moments and hence they sit 2-0 up. It doesn't mean that we throw that plan out. Now, if anything, we just need to chisel away at some of the things we haven't got quite right."

While the score lines have been emphatic, McCullum felt England had not been completely outplayed. "I don't think we've been anywhere near our best so far. What's been has been. For us now it's not a matter of fighting the war that's been, it's focusing on the one that's coming. The conditions here at Adelaide are going to be quite different. [We need to] just be a little more calculated when we get the opportunity."