When Brendon McCullum became England Test head coach in 2022, he set a precedent of only talking to the media after a loss. The glory belongs to the players. The failures for those, like him and captain Ben Stokes, grizzled enough to wear them, seasoned enough to shake them off.
More than three years on, ahead of his most do-or-die assignment, McCullum decided to kick-off the visitors' three days of build-up ahead of the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. If ever the mundanity of press conference commitments could be characterised as a Hail Mary play, this was it.
"When you need distinct messaging, when you need to protect your bottom line of performance, where you think maybe things are, then that's the job of your leaders to do so," McCullum explained. And sure enough, he did as he has always done: go harder with the messaging. Urge more belief in the method. More conviction to the process. This time looking to inspire victory rather than minimise the fallout from defeat.
It was McCullum who had the final word in Brisbane last Sunday, ahead of the four-day break. And having spent some of that time pitching up at the famous Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club, offering the best of both worlds with a picturesque view of the Coral Sea on one side, and dedicated wall-to-wall horse racing on the other, he settled for consistency. Even if the wrong kind has England trailing 2-0 by virtue of consecutive eight-wicket defeats.
Seven days were never going to change his mind, even if the logic surely dictates the approach to the next three should countenance the previous two. Having backed Ollie Pope as England's No. 3 at the start of the week, McCullum held firm to do so again, announcing the top seven would remain in situ in what could be the last live Test of a legacy defining Ashes tour.
This is as much to do with the green tinge Jacob Bethell has yet to shake as McCullum's own formative experiences. As a player, he happened upon liberation through struggle, both in his own career and as a witness to others.
The Around The Wicket team debate the future of England coach Brendon McCullum in the wake of two thrashings.
One of McCullum's favourite examples of talent rising through untold pressure was actually at his expense. Back in 2007, while keeping for New Zealand in Johannesburg, he shelled a 24-year old Hashim Amla on 2, a dismissal that would have almost certainly led to the South African being axed. Amla, now with seemingly nothing to lose, decided to unfurl the shots he always wanted to play, going on to an unbeaten 176, just his second century in 31 knocks. A third came in the very next innings, at Centurion also against New Zealand and, well, you know the rest.
Quite how such forces apply to a batting collective remains to be seen. It is hard not to wonder if the gamble to stick rather than twist comes with the perspective that his faith and the unrealised potential of a talented but flawed batting group are about to pay out. The Adelaide surface, McCullum believes, is more their speed. The returning Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon may have something to say about that.
What logic one can extrapolate from the individual whims of England's uniquely different batters is they do vibe off each other. There is no yin to another's yang - just straight yang. While Joe Root remains an outlier through greatness, these batters have been in situ since the start of the 2024 summer and tend to move together.
None of that has been on show this last month, of course. Even the failures at Optus Stadium and the Gabba have no real sense of unity beyond vagaries of individual interpretations of errors against Mitchell Starc and steepling bounce. Indeed, it was the purpose of Noosa to bring them back together, even if it meant confronting their own shortcomings among a few beers. McCullum sees these organic conversations far more productive than those that are forced, even at this juncture.
Spirits were high during Sunday's training session, though they always are. Fielding on the outfield was followed by an engaging net session on spicy practice pitches. Dialogue between batters and bowlers ranged from productive to jovial sledging. Only Stokes will know where this ranks on the skipper's scale of training for show and training to dominate.
As for "over-preparing", McCullum explained his comments on England's long lead-in to the Brisbane Test that drew ire his way were made for those exact reasons. Though he did reiterate his take that the players did not have the requisite energy and focus to make in-play tweaks during the day-night match, the angst towards him was welcome. Necessary collateral to preserve the mindset of a team starting to doubt themselves.
"I'll always protect my players and if that means that it puts me in the spotlight, I have no problem with that," McCullum said. "For us it was important over those few days to be able to get away from the game. As much as you don't want anyone reading the media within your set-up, sometimes it happens, right? So you've got to be able to be savvy enough to be able to make some plays, which will hopefully allow you to buy some time and buy your squad some time."
Whether that has worked will dictate how much time McCullum has in the top job. He is not bothered by speculation, but Ashes defeats bring casualties. For management and the players.
His message to those under his care - enjoy the pressure. Try and revel in the scrutiny. For three years, for better and, now, for worse, the noise around this England team has been loud. As McCullum found out in retirement, you will miss it when it's gone, which might be as soon as the end of next week for some.
"The music stops at some stage, right, in everyone's careers? And you don't get that scrutiny. You don't get those eyeballs. You don't get the pressure environment that you are operating in now.
"So, in a funny way, you actually look back on that sometimes, speaking as a player who's stepped away from the game, you do miss it. You know that is the fun stuff. That's where you find out a lot about yourself. That's where you're able to prove to yourself what you're capable of achieving."