As England contemplate on their next Test captain following the retirement of maverick allrounder Ben Stokes, the team’s head coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key have been urged to resign from their positions.
The 35-year-old Stokes announced the end of his reign as England captain and player on Sunday, a day before his team endured a crushing 160-run defeat to New Zealand in the third Test at Trent Bridge, a loss that condemned his team to a 2-1 series loss.
The loss continued England’s disappointing run in the longest format. The side has managed only two victories in its last 10 Test matches, a stretch that includes defeats to Australia and New Zealand, along with a home series draw against India.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes the current direction of the team is unacceptable.
“When I saw that on the fourth evening last week, I went ‘nah, we can’t accept that’ as ex-players in the game. And it was that period that I watched and I went ‘nah, enough is enough’. English cricket has got to be better than that,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
McCullum, who previously captained New Zealand, and Key have been under scrutiny since England’s heavy 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, which ended in January. Vaughan questioned whether the current coaching setup is capable of taking England back to the top.
“I think Baz McCullum is a great guy but he’s not a great coach and for England. As ex-players and fans of English cricket we should be aiming to be the number-one team in the world and at the minute we are ranked seventh. We’ve won two games in 10 matches, and those two wins have come at Lord’s on a cesspit and the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which was a two-dayer, so the only two games that we’ve won have been on farmers’ fields (poor pitches).
“That can’t be right. I want change. I’ve seen enough. I care passionately about English cricket and I hate watching that and you can’t tell me that the 20-odd thousand (fans) aren’t thinking the same. When you’ve got the opposition in your own backyard laughing at you, enough is enough. We need to move on,” he added.
