1. Finding a new way to deal with pressure For all that the series was obviously a failure, England were competitive for periods of most of the Ashes Tests. But McCullum has repeatedly conceded that in the key moments when matches tend to be decided his side have a habit of stumbling. The question is why, and on Friday he made the telling admission: “I thought some of our guys were more ready for the pressure that was coming in Australia than they [actually] were.” So he has had to reconsider how to best prepare for such intangibles. England were widely condemned for a lackadaisical buildup to the first Ashes Test but McCullum implied that his players’ problem was not down to poor preparation, but actually to poor, or insufficient, coaching. Given that the removal of pressure has always been at the very heart of his coaching philosophy, this is essentially an admission of failure. “That’s always been one of our things, to try and take pressure away from the guys,” he said.…