England MD Rob Key says there has been no “big bust-up” between coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes after the Ashes drubbing as he and ECB CEO Richard Gould explained why the New Zealander has kept his job.
Under McCullum, who is contracted until 2027, and Stokes England lost 4-1 in Australia this winter – their sole win came in a remarkable two-day Boxing Day Test in Melbourne – with their preparation and rigidly aggressive playing style criticised.
There appeared a divergence in messaging between coach and captain at points but Key refuted the notion of a major clash and insisted the hierarchy were not looking for a “massive change of philosophy”.
Key said: “You are not asking Brendon to be someone completely different; when you are not authentic as a leader, you are done.
“But what we are all agreed on – Ben, Brendon, myself – is that while we want players who can score, be aggressive and soak up pressure, you have to be relentless and smart enough to adapt.
“Ben’s way is maybe slightly more conservative to Brendon’s and that’s absolutely fine. As long as ultimately you all agree on what you want from your players.”
Why England have kept faith with McCullum and his ‘big brain’
England played just one warm-up match ahead of the series – an intra-squad game against the Lions – while a number of batters were dismissed driving on the up on bouncy Australian pitches.
A mid-series beach break in Noosa, between the second Test in Brisbane and third Test in Adelaide, was questioned beforehand, while unverified footage emerged of batter Ben Duckett seemingly drunk during that trip.
That came after white-ball skipper Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue went out the night before a one-day international in New Zealand last year, misdemeanours that were made public after the Ashes series loss and before the recent T20 World Cup.
England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup after coming through scares against Associate nations Nepal, Scotland and Italy in round one, with their run eventually ended via seven-run defeat to eventual champions India in a Mumbai run-fest.
Gould told reporters at Lord’s on Monday: “Brendon has spoken a lot about informal vs casual.
ECB chief-executive officer Richard Gould says England must be ready to win the 2027 Ashes
“Sometimes when he is sat watching the games comments are made about seeing the soles of his feet and you may take the impression he is very casual but that is not what we see.
“There is a big brain that is working through every decision and every action. When you look at the white-ball series, in terms of interactions on pitch with walkie-talkies, trying to impact decisions as the match is going on and adapt to what is happening.”
‘We want to be ready to win Ashes in 2027’
Gould continued: “We want to be ready to win the Ashes in 2027. Everything I have heard from Rob Key and Brendon, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and [men’s performance director] Ed Barney confirms we are all pulling in the same direction and eager to evolve.
“There was a lot of consideration to [making change]. Sometimes moving people on is the easy thing to do and that is not the route we are going to take. It may not be the popular route but we think it is the right route.
“Through the disappointments and difficulties of the Ashes, we have seen a conviction to learn and adapt and a determination to take things forward. People who are hurt but determined to put things right and get revenge in 2027.
“We don’t want to be painted into a corner and it perceived we can only do things one way, either as individuals or as a group. It’s whether we can adapt as a group and we have certainly seen very good evidence that we have many more miles to run with this team.”
Gould added that the Ashes defeat was “still painful” and admitted “we got some things wrong” with the focus now on winning major Test series.
The team have failed to beat Australia or India in five-match series since McCullum and Stokes took charge in 2022, drawing with those sides at home and being thumped away.
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