Coach Brendon McCullum accepted England may have made mistakes with their Ashes preparation after their series defeat was confirmed in Adelaide. Despite some fight from the tourists, Australia completed an 82-run victory on the fifth day of the third Test to clinch the urn at the earliest possible opportunity.

England were heavily beaten in the first two Tests and their preparation, which included only one warm-up match against an England Lions development side before the series, has been widely questioned throughout.

"It is disappointing when you lose and I'm sure there will be plenty of questions asked and rightfully so," McCullum said to BBC Test Match Special. "We haven't got everything right. I haven't got everything right as a coach and I put my hand up for that."

The futures of McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and managing director Rob Key will all be questioned following the defeat. In arranging the game against the Lions, England replicated their preparations for other tours under this regime, including in India and Pakistan last year, in opting against warm-up matches.