Asked if there would be changes in the batting group after some costly collapses, Brendon McCullum said: “I wouldn’t have thought so.”

England head coach Brendon McCullum is ready to roll out an unchanged batting line-up for this week’s crunch Ashes Test in Adelaide, insisting he will not be swayed by questions over his future.

At 2-0 down with three to play, England know they cannot afford another slip-up but are set to give their error-prone top seven another chance.

Ollie Pope, who averages 18.71 in 14 innings against Australia with a top score of 46, looked most vulnerable to a challenge from Jacob Bethell but McCullum spoke strongly in favour of retaining the status quo.

Pope duly took his place in the catching cordon as England returned to practice for the first time since losing

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