LORD’S — When England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Richard Gould confirmed coach Brendon McCullum was safe in his job despite last winter’s 4-1 Ashes mauling in Australia, he insisted removing the New Zealander would have caused more harm than good.
The nature of England’s defeat Down Under was grisly in extremis – with poor preparation, on-field execution and off-field discipline coming together to deliver a series that saw Ben Stokes’ team lose their identity and spectacularly fail to deliver.
Most damaging was the off-field behaviour, culminating in Harry Brook’s altercation with a bouncer in Wellington in late October – an incident that was covered up until it finally leaked hours after England’s final defeat of the Ashes in Sydney in early January.
Brook kept his job after being fined £30,000 – the maximum punishment available to the ECB – and now it’s been confirmed officially that both McCullum and managing director Rob Key, the men who fostered an unprofessional environment where such behaviour was possible, are also safe in their positions.
Rob Key (right) and McCullum are at the top of England’s cricketing ladder (Photo: AFP)So what’s been learned and what has actually changed?
In a briefing in the ECB boardroom at Lord’s, both Gould and Key oversaw a 20-minute presentation on their Ashes findings. They even had slides – which we cannot publish.
One of the main takeaways was ensuring the England men’s teams had an environment and culture that is positive, relaxed AND professional.
These things should be unwritten. But here it was on a projector in the boardroom for all to see. And that AND was capped up to emphasise perhaps lessons have been learned from the winter.
Reading between the lines, the reason McCullum is staying is because Gould is a forgiving man – he did not sack a manager during his short stint as chief executive at Championship football club Bristol City – and because the Kiwi coach persuaded him he could change. Or as Gould put it “adapt and evolve”.
‘It’s not a popularity campaign’
The fans are angry and the imposition of a midnight curfew on the players to stem the boozing and a semi-final appearance at a T20 World Cup just isn’t going to cut it for the general population. That’s not a sentiment felt by Gould, whose father Bobby was a football manager who led Wimbledon to their famous 1988 FA Cup.
“We are not going to select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign,” said Gould. “We’re going to do it based on good judgment, objective views. My old man was a football manager. Sacking was part of the job. 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 on forward.
“These are all individuals that have got other things that they can do in their lives and they are all committed to doing the best for England and to learning the lessons that are evident. So yeah, it may not be the popular route. It may not be the easiest route, but I think it’s the right route.
Stokes (left) and McCullum’s relationship has been strained at times (Photo: PA)“In terms of the elements that have caused frustration, we recognise those and we’ve been seeking to learn from those during this process. And we are very, very excited about the summer ahead because we’re going to go in with a hardened management team, with additions, with lots of learnings that we’re going to put into action.
“And I would much rather be doing that than starting from fresh again. Sometimes they can be false dawns. We would rather work through.”
There was a concession from Gould that elements of the players’ off-field behaviour over the winter was unprofessional – but he says he’d cover up similar incidents to Brook’s in Wellington again. Hardly a positive sign surely?
“We took action at that particular time,” her said. “We didn’t inform the media, and whether we would do so again, we probably wouldn’t [tell the media] in this particular instant.”
Stokes-McCullum disagreements ‘no bad thing’
McCullum’s relationship with Test captain Ben Stokes broke down during the Ashes. It has been repaired somewhat through talks since both blamed each other for failures that led to England’s defeat in Australia when they submitted their views for Gould’s Ashes review that will not be made public.
But can the truce really hold in the medium to long term?
“It’s not a bad thing to not agree at times,” said Key. “They’re fine. There’s never been a moment where they’ve had a massive bust up. There’s been no big argument. And actually, what we’ve really all agreed on now is that we don’t want a massive change of style. Ben’s way is probably slightly more conservative to Brendon, and that’s absolutely fine.”
So, there we go. Baz and Ben are fine. Bazball lives. Nobody gets sacked and it’s all going to be fine. Lessons have been learned apparently from the Ashes but the proof will be in the results.
The truth is talk of a “beefed up” backroom team for McCullum and improved player behaviour are genuine. But the greater truth is that the ECB’s timid leadership didn’t have the stomach for change and were worried that enacting it might upset the players.
However, well-intentioned, it’s all very wishy washy. And unless results improve, the fans won’t buy it.
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