We bowled terribly on second day - McCullum

Coach Brendon McCullum said England had poor moments with bat, ball and in the field during the second Test but admitted they "bowled terribly" at the start of Australia's first innings.

England's wayward seamers allowed Australia to race to 77-0 in 13 overs in reply to the tourists' 334 and had to battle to limit the damage throughout the remainder of the second day.

"We were trying too hard was my assessment of it," McCullum told 7 Cricket.

"We had a reasonable score in the first innings and knew it was a pivotal moment in the game if we were able to strike.

"Sometimes if you do try too hard you mis-execute, tighten up and aren't able to apply pressure. We were honest with ourselves. We bowled terribly in that period.

"From that point on it was about trying to bring the game back to us."