England coach Brendon McCullum will keep his job despite the team’s Ashes debacle, with cricket chief Richard Gould insisting he can “adapt and evolve”.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) promised a “thorough review” after Ben Stokes’s team were demolished 4-1 on their five-Test tour of Australia, which ended in January.
In addition to their poor performances on the pitch, there were reports of excessive drinking by players while they were on a break, raising concerns about the dressing-room culture.
Revelations followed that vice-captain Harry Brook had been involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand.
Watch Live & Free coverage of the 2026 Marsh Sheffield Shield with Kayo Freebies | Register free now >
A 4-0 loss in Australia four years earlier led to the departures of Chris Silverwood and Ashley Giles, but this time the ECB has backed its leadership team following its review.
It means captain Stokes, McCullum, and England managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key will all keep their jobs.
McCullum, 44, at the helm since 2022, has been responsible for England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach to red-ball cricket, which has produced some spectacular performances.
But his methods have failed to yield a series win against India or Australia – England’s main rivals in the Test arena.
The New Zealander’s contract, which is reportedly worth more than £1 million (AU$1.9 million) a year, runs for another 18 months.
Get all the latest cricket news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now >
‘Take offence to that’- McCullum | 06:26
ECB chief executive Gould told a briefing at Lord’s on Monday that there was a resolve among the leadership group to put things right.
“There was a lot of consideration as to what is the right mix of leadership and who do we want and who do we need,” he said.
“I think what we’ve seen is a determination from all those involved to adapt and evolve, to understand that there are different ways of doing things and through the disappointment and difficulties of the Ashes to learn from that.
“And so, you know, we’ve got a lot of people, yes, hurt by what went on during the Ashes, but equally determined to now put things right and looking forward to seeking revenge in 2027 (when Australia tour England).”
Key, speaking alongside Gould, said there had often been a “lack of consequence for sub-standard performance” in terms of under-performing players.
But Gould, the son of former Wimbledon and Wales football manager Bobby Gould, defended the lack of change in senior team management by saying such decisions were not a “popularity campaign”.
“My old man was a football manager, sacking was part of the job,” he said.
“It didn’t necessarily do the right thing. Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That’s not the route that we’re going to take.
“I’ve seen the driving ambition and determination that we’re lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Key, a former England Test batsman, insisted he was hurting as much as any fan after the Ashes loss.
“I wouldn’t underestimate some of the pain that we’ve been through,” said Key, adding: “Brendon, myself, Ben, it’s been as tough a time as I think I’ve had … You don’t do these jobs to be the most popular person in the world. You do it to try and make a difference.
“I felt personally that there’s still a lot to do.”
England host New Zealand and Pakistan in two three-Test series this season, starting with the series opener against the Black Caps from June 4.
‘Shambolic’ – Vaughan slams Bazball | 07:37
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott penned a scathing assessment of the press conference in The Telegraph, questioning why nobody was held to account for “the worst pre-planned Ashes tour of my lifetime”.
“The review was done by Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, who has never played county or Test match cricket, and he decided nobody is to blame. What planet is he on?” he wrote.
“The ECB is accountable to the 18 counties and the chairmen of those counties should assert themselves and sack the chief executive for treating us, England cricket lovers like idiots.
“Cricket supporters will be asking how Brendon and Rob could make so many bad decisions on the Australian tour and yet the chief executive of English cricket decides there is no need to make any changes. Where is the accountability?”
Elsewhere, former England captain Michael Atherton declared the lack of accountability would be “hard to stomach” for the nation’s cricket fans.
“In most walks of life, such a litany of mistakes would result in some significant change,” he wrote in The Times.
“Fundamentally, when all the flannel is stripped away, the ECB had little appetite at this stage for significant upheaval and a hefty payout.
as there is no bigger crime in professional sport than not giving yourself the best chance to succeed, they are lucky to be given an opportunity to make amends.”
Stokes also released a statement on Instagram following the announcement.“Being England captain is the greatest honour a player can be given and I do not take it for granted. It has its highs and it has its lows, it makes you want to smile it makes you want to cry. It completely and utterly consumes you and feels like it’s the only thing in your life at times,” he penned.
“The last three months has without a doubt been the hardest period of my captaincy journey, it’s tested me in so many different ways and I’m sure every other captain has gone through this as well.
“Baz, Rob and myself have the passion and desire to take this team forward, we are going to give you everything we have, we know we made mistakes along the way and we have learnt from those mistakes, you learn more from failure than success.
“I have learnt a lot about myself but the most important thing that I want the fans to know is that I f***ing love cricket, I f***ing love this team, I f***ing love being England captain and I have got so much more to give to this role and I’m so happy that I get to do it with Baz and Rob,
“We all appreciate every single person who supports us. We do what we do for many reasons but one of those reasons is to bring our supporters and fans happiness and a sense of pride and we will aim to do those things as much as we can in the future.
“See you all in June for the start of the Test Match summer.”
Discussion about this post