Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes may not be made to pay any immediate price for losing Ashes 2025. Image: Reuters
England coach Brendon McCullum, the biggest proponent of the aggressive Bazball playing style, and captain Ben Stokes may still survive in their posts after a humiliating 3-0 defeat in the ongoing Ashes 2025 Test series against Australia. England hyped the Ashes like anything, with their former players even stating that the India tour earlier this year was like preparation for the trip Down Under.
But the reality struck soon as they lost the Ashes in just 11 days, with two matches still to go. Defeats in the first three matches at Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide have left McCullum and Stokes with no place to hide. It forced coach McCullum to finally admit that the team suffered due to a lack of red-ball practice games.
England had opted for a white-ball tour of New Zealand and one intra-squad match to prepare for the Ashes.
"I'm sure there will be plenty of questions asked and rightfully so," said McCullum after defeat to Australia in the third Test. "We haven't got everything right and I haven't got everything right as a coach either. Ultimately [as head coach] you are responsible for how you get your side ready and prepare them. I had conviction in our methods, not just leading into the first Test but also in between Tests.
"I look back now and think: 'Did we need more leading into the first and did we need less leading into the second?' We lost 3-0 so you would probably say there was room for change there. Again, you put your hand up as a coach and say you might not have got that right. I felt it would give us our best chance because it has previously. Sitting here 3-0, it didn't work."
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But a report in the Guardian says that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may not opt for mass sacking as they did four years ago after a 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia. At that time, coach Chris Silverwood and director of cricket Ashley Giles were sacked, while captain Joe Root resigned a little later.
The report adds that McCullum may continue in his job as he is also the coach for England's white-ball teams and his contract runs till 2027.
Stokes may also get a reprieve. He said after the Adelaide Test that he would "absolutely" want to continue as the captain of the Test side.
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The director of cricket, Rob Key, though, could face strict action. It was he who appointed McCullum as Test coach, decided to implement split coaching duties in Tests and white-ball cricket, but late last year, made McCullum the coach of the ODI and T20I sides. Key's lack of emphasis on making England cricketers play in the County Championship will also be scrutinised.
The ECB will be conducting a full review of England's Ashes tour after the final Test next month.