New Zealand ODI defeat won't impact Ashes - McCullum

Head coach Brendon McCullum says England's ODI series defeat by New Zealand will not have any bearing on the Ashes.

England lost 3-0 to the Black Caps, with their batting coming under scrutiny. White-ball captain Harry Brook scored England's only century and led the way with 175 runs but Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith only scored a combined 58 runs, with a high score of 25.

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McCullum, however, doesn't believe there will be any hangover heading into the first Test on 21 November and says his side have a "level of confidence" in their batting in Australian conditions.

"It's a different form of the game, and it's a completely different kind of challenge which we'll be confronted with as well," McCullum said.

"In T20 cricket, we're going really well. I think in Test cricket, we've got a pretty good template of where we're at and I think we've performed reasonably well, albeit we've got a huge challenge in front of us. One-day cricket is clearly an area where we need to improve.

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"I think when we do come across the trickier conditions in Australia and Test cricket, I feel like we've got a pretty good understanding of how we'll go about it. It doesn't guarantee us anything, but it gives us a level of confidence going into that series."

McCullum also addressed the form and fitness of Jofra Archer, who bowled 20 overs across the final two ODIs, taking three wickets.

"He'd done a lot of skill work as well as fitness work, and for him to get through two matches with his full quota of overs and build towards what's coming in the next couple of weeks is a big bonus," he added.

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