The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision to keep head coach Brendon McCullum, Test captain Ben Stokes, and team director Rob Key after the poor Ashes tour has shocked many, including the Australian legends Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh.
Many expected a big shake-up in the England camp after the 1-4 Ashes loss to Australia earlier this year, but the ECB decided to continue with the same leadership. Following the Australia tour, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes had openly expressed their desire to continue as coach and captain.
Gilchrist says short gap before next Ashes saved Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ jobs
Following the ECB’s shocking move, Adam Gilchrist feels Stokes and McCullum managed to save their jobs because the next Ashes series in England is just a little over a year away.
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Adam Gilchrist was quoted as saying by Fox Sports: “It’s only 14 or 15 months till that Ashes return series starts, so you probably think, ‘Well, it might be a bit too short a term to put a whole broom through and start a fresh approach with someone else.’
So maybe that’s worked in their favor, and the fact that the recently completed T20 World Cup was on, of course, and they got through and ended up having a pretty successful tournament in that regard (also helped).”
Adam Gilchrist warns of deep problems inside England camp
However, the legendary Australian wicketkeeper-batter warned that England’s problems are not small and should not be ignored. He mentioned what Liam Livingstone said earlier: England’s team management was not talking properly to players.
Livingstone felt he was not getting proper feedback or guidance from the coaches, which shows a communication gap inside the team. Gilchrist has made it clear that England clearly needs to make changes, as players were not able to perform their best because of a lack of communication.
Gilchrist added, “But already there’s some little fractures appearing from other people’s comments that weren’t so comfortable, the likes of Liam Livingstone and so on. But they’ve survived. It’s up to them now whether they think they need to change the approach.”
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Mark Waugh slams ECB’s decision, says England must learn or face more losses
Meanwhile, Mark Waugh was not impressed by the ECB’s call. He believes that England’s aggressive style works only on flat pitches, but this approach completely failed in tough places like India and Australia. He insisted that Stokes and McCullum must change their approach.
Waugh said during the same discussion, “It was probably a 50-50 call. A lot of people probably thought England might need a new direction, but they have shown faith in Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. But there is no doubt they have to change their ways. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are not stupid. They will realize the mistakes they made on the tour in Australia. They are going to have a chance to turn that around.”
The former Australian batter hopes that England’s coach and captain duo have learned their lessons, and if they haven’t learned their lessons, they are going to lose more than the wins in the next 12 months. Waugh signed off by saying, “The proof is going to be in the pudding. Let’s see if they learn from their mistakes.”
