McCullum & Key Handed Fresh Chance to Keep Their Roles
England’s McCullum and Key face scrutiny after Ashes defeat but are given a chance to improve preparation, culture, and results for the national team.
Head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key will be given the chance to stay on and show they can improve the England set-up, despite the Ashes defeat in Australia.
McCullum and Key have come under scrutiny after England surrendered the series with losses in the opening three Tests of the best-of-five series.
Both men and Test captain Ben Stokes have expressed a desire to remain in their positions – McCullum and Stokes have contracts with England until after the home Ashes in 2027.
And the management of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are not minded to impose the sweeping changes that often follow Ashes defeats down under.
Any decision to remove 44-year-old McCullum in particular would have been complicated by the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India, beginning in February.
Instead, the future of the hierarchy now seems to rest on their willingness to accept the need for change and their ability to enact it.
How long they are given to make alterations and improve results is unclear. A poor World Cup would increase pressure, then England's next Test is against New Zealand in June.
The scope for what could be changed is also broad. So much criticism of this England regime has centred on the culture New Zealander McCullum has created, including preparation, training methods and an apparent lack of accountability for mistakes made on the field.
England's off-field activities have also been questioned on this tour. Time playing golf and the amount of drinking done on a holiday in Noosa between the second and third Tests have come into focus.
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"I have no problem with cricketers playing golf but this team has been loose on this tour," former England captain Michael Vaughan told the Test Match Special podcast.
"They need to sharpen up. The management needs to accept that it needs to change slightly."
Under Key, McCullum and Stokes, England have stripped back their preparation for overseas tours.
England won the opening Test on their five previous tours before the Ashes. In Australia they played only one warm-up match, against England Lions at a club ground in Perth. McCullum and Key have both subsequently admitted that mistakes were made in England's preparation.
England have slimmed down their backroom staff since McCullum took charge. Marcus Trescothick and Jeetan Patel are the only full-time assistant coaches with England for the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
David Saker is also part of the coaching team on a short-term deal as a bowling consultant – the third different man to hold the role in little more than a year. There has not been a coach with a fielding specialism working with the England team since Paul Collingwood departed from the set-up at the beginning of the home summer.
Changes or additions to the coaching staff could be one way England alter their methods, if the moves are accepted by McCullum.
Vaughan, who captained England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, added: "McCullum can change if he is not stubborn and understands that it is a learning process.
"He is a young coach and if he is willing to change, then he can carry on. If you look at the detail in this England side, the preparation has been poor. The detail needs to come in for England.
"If Baz is willing to be reasonable, I have no problem with this combination carrying on. The Test team can improve and England cricket needs more detail and a more professional approach."
When they took charge in 2022, McCullum and Stokes breathed life into England's Test team, delivering 10 wins from their first 11 matches in charge.
McCullum was subsequently also placed in charge of England's white-ball teams at the beginning of last year, though the results of the Test side have been on a steady decline.
If England are beaten on the final day of the fifth Test against Australia on Thursday, it will be their 14th defeat in their past 28 matches. They have not won a marquee five-match series against Australia or India, home or away, since 2018.
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"Brendon McCullum has got to change," said Vaughan. "This team have not won a five-Test series on his watch. They have got nowhere near a World Test Championship final, not beaten India, not beaten Australia. Those are the big series.
"The methods that he has brought and the psychology he talks about, England have not coped with the pressure or won a big series. In this series they went 2-0 down too quickly. He needs to be honest with himself.
"It is all about winning and the end result. This method has been judged in Australia. This England side, under this regime, has been entertaining but they do not get the trophies in their hand and that is what you get judged on."
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