Ashes beers are back on, says England coach Brendon McCullum | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Following the conclusion of the Ashes series, England coach Brendon McCullum expressed his willingness to share a beer with the Australian squad, despite having previously suggested otherwise after a controversial incident during the second Test.

The thrilling series concluded with a 2-2 draw after England secured a 49-run victory in the final Test at The Oval on Monday. Consequently, Australia retained the Ashes urn.
“Yeah, we’ll have a beer,” McCullum said with a laugh when asked by reporters about his previous comments.

During the second Test at Lord’s, an interesting incident occurred when Australia’s wicketkeeper, Alex Carey, executed an unconventional dismissal of Jonny Bairstow. As Bairstow left his crease at the end of an over, Carey underarmed the ball at the stumps, resulting in Bairstow’s dismissal.
The stumping dismissal triggered loud booing from the Lord’s crowd and Australian players were verbally abused by MCC members in the pavilion.

“I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer with them any time soon,” McCullum told the BBC after the incident. “You’ve got to live with the decisions you make.”
He said on Monday, however, that his comments had been misinterpreted.
“If we look back to after that Test match I don’t necessarily think what I said was construed in the right way,” he said.
“What I was saying was I’ve made mistakes in the past, and there’s times when you look back on some decisions with regret and I put my hand up to say that. I guess that’s what I was challenging. That’s the grey area around the spirit of cricket.”
He added that the incident would still be one the series will be remembered for.
“Ashes series have all these twists and turns and moments which people talk about and are able to remember them by, and that was certainly one of those,” he said.
But he insisted it was not something that would sour his relations with the Australian camp, particularly their captain Pat Cummins.
“I’ve had the pleasure of being able to coach Pat over in the IPL (in India). He’s an absolute champion fella, and I consider him one of my mates,” McCullum said.
(With Reuters Inputs)