'We'll go a little harder' - Brendon McCullum backs relentless approach despite heartbreaking Edgbaston loss

England skipper Ben Stokes vowed to continue his side's no-holds-barred approach in Tests despite the narrow loss against Australia. Now, England coach Brendon McCullum has backed Stokes' statement, stating that the Three Lions will go 'harder' against the Aussies in the remaining matches of the series.

Question marks have been raised about England's approach in the Ashes opener, with much of the talk surrounding Ben Stokes' glaring declaration against a formidable Australian side. However, coach Brendon McCullum has revealed that his side will go harder in the upcoming matches in a bid to counter Australia's conservative approach.

"We don't worry too much about the opposition. I had a bit of an inkling they might try and put some sweepers out, and it's hard to argue because they won the Test match, right? I'm sure they'll stick solid to that strategy, which I think is great because we'll go a little harder, and I think it makes for a really entertaining next few Test matches," McCullum said after the heartbreaking loss in the first Test at Edgbaston.

I'm really proud of the boys to be honest: McCullum

The England coach was quite pleased by the efforts of his players despite coming up short in the series opener. McCullum rued the missed opportunities and felt that his side did not get the 'rub of the green' at crucial junctures of the match. The Kiwi takes pride in his players' mentality and is raring to continue in the same vein in the coming matches.

"Obviously you'd rather have won the game. But the way that we played, I think it validated our style of play. If we'd have got a little bit of the rub of the green then we might have been on the other side of it. I'm really proud of the boys to be honest. A couple of things didn't quite go our way at times... that's the nature of the game, but we firmly believe, the skipper and I, that this gives us our greatest chance," he added.