Sports - Cricket
McCullum plays down England airport media incident
Brendon McCullum says England have coped well with Ashes scrutiny despite an airport media incident and mounting on-field pressure.
Brendon McCullum has acknowledged that an airport incident involving England team security and a television cameraman was not ideal, but insists his side has handled the intense scrutiny of an Ashes tour well.
The England coach was responding to an altercation at Brisbane airport on Saturday, where a member of England's support staff made contact with a Seven Network cameraman while attempting to block filming of the touring party.
Under Cricket Australia media guidelines, teams are not available for interviews while in transit, although filming is permitted from a respectful distance.
England captain Ben Stokes was also frustrated by media attention on the same day, after an Adelaide-based journalist recorded him from close range, which the team believed breached those guidelines.
England have been under heavy focus since arriving in Australia as they slipped 2-0 behind in the Ashes and struggled to impose their aggressive playing style. At times, that scrutiny has tipped into mockery, with the tourists becoming a regular topic of local banter.
Despite that, McCullum said the group had embraced the atmosphere. He pointed to Stokes posing for a photo with radio hosts during England's much-publicised break in Noosa, where signs referencing Bazball and moral victories were part of the joke.
McCullum said the Noosa trip, planned well in advance due to the gap between the Perth and Adelaide Tests, was an important chance for the squad to reset.
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green added that he felt sympathy for the tourists, saying constant filming can be uncomfortable for players trying to step away from the spotlight.
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