The Basin Reserve contest will go down as an all-time classic, with England asking New Zealand to follow on 226 runs behind, only to struggle in pursuit of a target of 258.
England, despite being denied a seventh successive victory, have won 10 out of 12 Tests since captain Ben Stokes and coach McCullum, himself a former New Zealand skipper, joined forces last year following a woeful run of one win in 17 matches at this level.
McCullum, while disliking the ‘Bazball’ reference to his nickname, was adamant there would be no let-up in England’s aggressive approach during a five-match series at home to arch-rivals Australia.
“We’ll try to play the cricket that we want,” McCullum told the BBC.
“If winning is the outcome at the end, fantastic. We’re going into it with a squad that believes in one another and has a style of play which we will uphold throughout.
“If Australia are too good for us, then so be it. If they’re not, we’ll have the urn,” he added.
Stokes, meanwhile, said it would be a “waste” of time for England to back down now.
