Brendon McCullum sacked as England’s Test coach, retains white-ball roles

Brendon McCullum has been relieved of his duties as coach of England’s Test team after four years in charge, bringing an end to the ‘Bazball’ era in red-ball cricket.

The 44-year-old, whose stint with the national team began in a blaze of glory with 14 wins in his first 19 games in charge alongside captain Ben Stokes, departs after a heavy loss to Australia over the winter and, more recently, a 2-1 defeat by New Zealand.

The was England’s first loss at home in a series of three-or-more matches since 2012 and culminated in Stokes’ retirement from international cricket, with both recent series having been played out to a backdrop of controversies off the pitch.

McCullum, who had consistently expressed a desire to stay on in the role, now follows his captain in departing the Test scene. He will retain his duties as head coach with the England white-ball one-day international (ODI) and T20 sides, with the latter’s 4-0 series win over World Cup winners India, completed on Saturday, establishing them as No 1 in the world rankings.

“Of course I’m gutted not to be continuing (as Test coach), but I respect the decision,” said McCullum, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career with New Zealand, in a statement released by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). “My focus now is on giving everything I’ve got to the white-ball teams and helping England keep moving forward.

“I’ve absolutely loved coaching the Test side and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. There’ve been some unbelievable highs and a few tough days along the way, but that’s all part of taking on a challenge like this.

“It’s been a privilege and an honour, and I’m grateful; grateful to the players, the staff and the fans who supported us on the journey.

“I wish the Test team nothing but success. There’s a hell of a lot of talent in that dressing room and they’re a special bunch of lads. I’ll always be backing the boys, with a smile on my face, and hoping they keep taking the game on. I know they’ll continue to make people proud.”

McCullum and his captain Ben Stokes took over an England Test team at a desperately low ebb in 2022, with the team having just endured a familiar thrashing in the Ashes Down Under. They had won only one of their last 17 Tests. But the pair’s exciting brand of cricket, dubbed ‘Bazball’, secured some thrilling early victories notably fuelled by eye-catching run chases to revive the national team.

However, after that breathless start, the style rather stalled. Ultimately, it failed to yield a victory in a five-match series and, moreover, did not secure success over either Australia or India.

The Ashes were drawn 2-2 at home in 2023, and lost 4-1 in humiliating fashion over the winter. India also beat England comfortably 4-1 at home in 2023-24 and drew 2-2 on their tour of England last summer.

“Brendon breathed new life into England men’s Test team during an exciting period which saw some amazing victories, and we’re grateful for all he has given to the role,” said the ECB’s CEO, Richard Gould. “We now believe that the time is right to make a change for the Test team as we target victory in the Ashes next summer.”

The ECB hope to appoint McCullum’s successor as Test coach ahead of the three-match series against Pakistan, which starts in August. The most obvious replacement would appear to be the former England coach Andy Flower, if he can be persuaded to leave — or combine — his various roles in T20 franchise cricket to return to the fold.

England have a three-Test tour of South Africa starting in December and play a one-off game against Australia in March at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Test.

“Some of England’s most memorable moments in recent history have occurred under Brendon’s leadership of the Test team,” added Rob Key, England men’s managing director, whose own position remains the subject of fierce scrutiny.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to watch him shape the mentality of the team, to one the players have loved, and see him develop a new generation of talent who will be at the heart of England Men’s teams for years to come.

“He leaves the Test team well-set and poised to achieve great things.”

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The long, slow death of Bazball continues. Could Flower come in?

It was, in truth, the only decision the ECB could reach.

It was clear after the Ashes that Brendon McCullum’s position as England Test coach had become untenable, let alone after the debacle of the New Zealand series and the controversy over a late night out in Chelsea that ended with Ben Stokes retiring from international cricket.

That the ECB actually decided to not only retain McCullum but seemingly give him greater powers, placing him front and centre of almost every media gathering this summer as if he was a football manager, does not reflect well on the governing body. Nor does their decision to conduct a post-Ashes review and back everybody involved in the debacle apart, it seemed, from Zak Crawley only to reverse it all six months later.

Certainly, asking McCullum to change — turning him into some sort of cricketing chameleon, vowing to still do things his way only a bit differently — was the worst of all worlds and contributed to one of the biggest and most badly handled crises even the ECB have endured.

The only surprise is the timing. There was no suggestion of what was to come when McCullum gave a press conference in the indoor school at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton on Saturday night after England had cruised to another T20 victory over India.

The only time McCullum was anything like hesitant over any answer was when The Athletic asked him if Harry Brook could become Test captain as well as white-ball skipper. Clearly he knew then that he would not be extending his working relationship with a player, he said, is “more like a son” to him at Test level as well as with the T20 and 50-over sides.

The sad reality is that, as Stokes knew only too well as his dream of becoming one of the few England captains to win the Ashes in Australia was crushed, the better teams worked out Bazball. England were one-trick ponies and McCullum’s methods did not really work against India, Australia and against the kind of orthodox Test cricket played by New Zealand this summer.

That does not mean it wasn’t fun while it lasted. The first two years under McCullum and Stokes provided this observer with some of the very best and most enjoyable Test cricket I have seen or covered. That first summer of 2022 in particular was a delight.

It really did look then as if England were rewriting the rules of Test cricket. That Stokes and McCullum, along with the man who brought them together in Rob Key, had re-defined the old game to make it more fun and engaging for the T20 generation.

Alas, it did not last.

Key’s decision to give McCullum control of the white-ball teams last year was arguably his biggest mistake because, in the chaotic world of modern English cricket, there is just too much work for one person to be in charge of three England teams.

Now, conversely, it is McCullum’s salvation because he will carry on working with Brook and a white-ball team that went to the top of the T20 rankings by crushing world champions India 4-0 in their five-match series that ended on Saturday.

That side of the job seems to be working exceptionally well, and perhaps it was right all along to think that the New Zealander was better suited to the white-ball role when Key surprised everyone by making him Test coach four years ago.

To announce this now, with more than a month still to go before their next Test appointment against Pakistan on August 19, suggests England have their man in place to replace McCullum — or at least know who they want — and all roads on Sunday appeared to be leading to their former coach Andy Flower.

Flower is undoubtedly the best coach England ever had, leading them to three Ashes win including the famous triumph in Australia in 2010-11, their first white-ball title with the 2010 T20 World Cup and, in 2011, to the top of the Test world rankings.

He was known to be a disciplinarian and his tenure ended badly with the Kevin Pietersen affair after the 2013-14 Ashes drubbing, but Flower went away to the franchise world, re-invented himself and became just as successful there as he was with England.

Those who know the Zimbabwean say he has mellowed and changed with the demands of the job, and it would be a face-saving coup for the ECB to persuade him to take over again for a second stint, possibly combining the job with his role with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is undoubtedly the best man for the job now.

Whether he would also be able to carry on in The Hundred, which this year sees Flower taking over at Lord’s with London Spirit, remains to be seen, but it would be possible for a diligent and hard-working coach who took great pride in making England successful.

If it is not Flower then other candidates are thin on the ground, with Lions coach Andrew Flintoff probably not ready, as too would be other English coaches like Richard Dawson and James Foster. Their time may come but it is not now.

Ricky Ponting is one of the best coaches in the world but would never put on an England tracksuit and is happy with his work-life balance in franchises. And Justin Langer, a man who once said he sleeps with his Baggy Green cap, is simply too Australian for the job.

But the lack of viable alternatives is no reason to not make a change, and even if they have to pay up some of McCullum’s contract that was meant to run until the end of the Ashes next year — and he was definitely pushed rather than jumped — this was a move the ECB had to make.

Now Stokes and McCullum are gone and managing director Key could well follow in what is proving to be the long, slow death of Bazball.

If Flower returns as England coach he could bring his franchise right-hand man and former ECB performance director Mo Bobat back with him as managing director. Or Alec Stewart, the outstanding candidate, could take on one last challenge with England.

Either way, the changes that were expected and should have come after the Ashes are here. The ECB’s summer of upheaval continues.

Paul Newman