At least, that is the message coming from some of Test cricket\u2019s prominent journalists and former players ahead of the Adelaide Test, with one writer declaring it the \u201cmoment of truth\u201d for \u201cMcCullum and his creed\u201d.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765088290_713_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
McCullum\u2019s coaching future isn\u2019t the only topic of conversation though, with a big selection call turning the spotlight on one of England\u2019s biggest experiments while Mark Wood\u2019s absence has sparked a longstanding debate over the importance (or lack thereof) of county cricket.<\/p>\n
WHY THIS IS THE \u2018MOMENT OF TRUTH\u2019 FOR MCCULLUM<\/p>\n
The biggest spotlight, however, is on McCullum. That is especially true after the England coach came out strongly in the media earlier in the week to shoot down any suggestions that the batting line-up needed to be changed, hitting back at any \u201cknee-jerk reactions\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cKnee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our way,\u201d a defiant McCullum said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we haven\u2019t got enough runs so far in the series. We\u2019ve been in positions where we could have and we\u2019ve made mistakes. That can happen at times.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for us to go on and win the series it\u2019s not about throwing out what\u2019s been successful for us over the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, that defiance \u2014 whether it is to team selection or England\u2019s general playing philosophy \u2014 could end up costing McCullum his job if results don\u2019t turn around this series.<\/p>\n
That is the opinion of the Daily Mail\u2019s Deputy Chief Sports Writer<\/a>, Ian Herbert, who warned another defeat would result in McCullum being \u201cshown the door\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cGood luck to anyone seeking to challenge the all-seeing and all-knowing McCullum and Stokes, the self-styled saviours of Test cricket, who seem to believe they have been doing the English game an almighty favour by showing all the old principles the door,\u201d Herbert began.<\/p>\n To illustrate his point, Herbert singled out an instance after the Perth defeat where BBC\u2019s Jonathan Agnew suggested England could change its approach and play a pink-ball tour match ahead of Brisbane.<\/p>\n MORE ASHES NEWS<\/p>\n AUSSIE XI: Khawaja\u2019s Test career on the brink as star snubbed<\/a><\/p>\n ENG XI: Poms\u2019 surprise axing for Adelaide Ashes Test<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Embarrassing’: Pressure mounts on Jofra | 08:32<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe and we trust in our process,\u201d replied Stokes, before things started to get a touch tense when he was pressed on the matter. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just answered that question,\u201d the captain added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat came to pass in the second Test, with Australia shaping the game to ensure their bowlers worked with the evening moisture at the Gabba, rendered that decision, and Stokes\u2019 peremptory tone with Agnew, a disgrace,\u201d wrote Herbert.<\/p>\n \u201cSince Brisbane, we\u2019ve seen McCullum\u2019s jolly boys at Noosa on Queensland\u2019s Sunshine Coast – hanging out, enjoying some beers and laying themselves out on the sand for some rest after six shambolic days of Ashes cricket. The optics have been atrocious.<\/p>\n \u201cThat same air of inviolability surfaced on Sunday in McCullum\u2019s promise that England\u2019s aggressive style of batting will not change and his insistence that his top seven will remain the same.\u201d<\/p>\n But if nothing much changes on the scorecard either, can McCullum rest easy knowing he will be able to adapt ahead of the fourth Test? Herbert isn\u2019t so sure.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment of truth has arrived for McCullum and his creed. Lose in Adelaide and England will not even have managed to keep this tour alive beyond Christmas \u2013 an aim which was always the minimum requirement,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother defeat, to surrender the Ashes series, would be the moment to show McCullum the door, to restore sense, and to plot a course which marries modern, calculated aggression with technique, discipline and the ability to bat long. <\/p>\n \u201cA little more humility and contrition would not go amiss, either.\u201d<\/p>\n Brendon McCullum is under pressure. (Photo by Philip Brown\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n While not quite as dire in his warning, Mike Atherton wrote in a column for The Times<\/a> ahead of the third Test that it isn\u2019t just McCullum who is under pressure at Adelaide.<\/p>\n Rather, he pointed the finger at some of England\u2019s underperforming players like Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley, declaring that after being given \u201clots of chances\u201d this is their opportunity to \u201crepay the faith\u201d and help save the series.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a requirement this week for everyone to get themselves into the game, in whichever way suits their character best, after an incredibly lacklustre two Tests,\u201d Atherton wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is time for them to repay the faith and bring some of their own leadership qualities and presence to bear, so that Stokes does not have to carry the burden alone over the next five days.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was instructive to watch Stokes at the Gabba: setting fields for his bowlers, hurling himself into the fray in the field, bowling his share of overs and attempting to inject some discipline into the batting in the second innings. <\/p>\n \u201cHe has always been a follow-me type of leader, unwilling to ask others to do things he would not himself, but he cannot bash the door down alone. It really does feel like crunch time for some who have been offered a lot of latitude.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ASHES NEWS<\/p>\n \u2018LOST THE PLOT\u2019: Legend\u2019s secret outburst… and the dressing room clash that sparked Ashes epic<\/a><\/p>\n