Cricket
Brendon McCullum ‘sorry’ his England side came up short on biggest Test stage
Brendon McCullum has apologised to English cricket fans for falling short as Test head coach, accepting that “it’s time for someone else to have a go”.
McCullum will remain in charge of the limited-overs set-up but was axed from the red-ball role he had held since 2022 after overseeing seven defeats in the last nine matches.
The New Zealander was euphemistically said to have “stood down” in an official England and Wales Cricket Board statement released on Sunday, but was quick to admit that he had been pushed.
“Yeah, I got a tap on the shoulder,” he said.
“I was disappointed but at the same time I fully respect the decision. We’re in a results business and fundamentally our results weren’t good enough. It’s time for someone else to have a go.
“We didn’t always get it right. For that, I put my hand up and say we weren’t able to get there.”
A 2-1 defeat to New Zealand spelled the end of his Test tenure but he was already hanging by a thread in the aftermath of a chaotic 4-1 defeat in the Ashes over the winter.
That extended a poor record in the flagship contests against the other members of the so-called ‘big three’, losing away to Australia and India and drawing 2-2 against both on home soil.
“We just weren’t quite able to win those big series, against India and Australia, the two marquee series. We just weren’t able to get the results and for that I guess I can only say sorry,” he said.
“I was the leader of that group. I was in charge of the team culturally, in charge of the team tactically, in charge of the team results-wise as well.
“If you don’t get the results, being a results business, fundamentally you get replaced. I’m not unaccustomed to that, I’ve been around this game for 20-odd years and I know if you aren’t getting the results, someone else needs an opportunity.
“I put my hand up for that and accept it wasn’t good enough.”
McCullum was speaking at Edgbaston, fresh from a 4-0 win over India in the Vitality T20 series and on the eve of a three-match ODI leg.
The footprint of his job may just have contracted considerably but for managing director Rob Key the thorny issue of balancing a split coaching set-up will provide a fresh headache.
England have been down that road twice before – Andy Flower and Ashley Giles butting heads over player availability from 2012-14, while McCullum’s star power nudged Matthew Mott into a clearly junior role when they started together four years ago.
Flower, a three-time Ashes winner who led England to number one in the Test rankings in his previous reign, has been positioned as an early favourite, with the likes of Richard Dawson, Jonathan Trott, Justin Langer and the newly available Stephen Fleming also interesting possibilities.
“Once the new coach comes into play we will sit down and unpick a lot of this stuff,” McCullum said of the dual approach.
“You’ve got different staff, players, schedules are different, obviously captaincy discussions, but it’s about what is right for English cricket. I’m sure that will be a collaborative process. I also wish the new Test coach all the best.”
McCullum told BBC Sport there was a poetic element to the timing of his departure, less than two weeks since his former captain’s dramatic Trent Bridge farewell.
“I got some nice messages from Stokesy, actually. I guess, in a romantic kind of way there’s something about Stokesy and me going out together,” he said.
“We started it together and we go out together, and I have no problem with that.”
