{"id":366654,"date":"2026-07-15T12:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=366654"},"modified":"2026-07-15T12:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:03:02","slug":"brendon-mccullum-says-england-werent-adequate-after-test-coach-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/brendon-mccullum-says-england-werent-adequate-after-test-coach-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Brendon McCullum says England \u2018weren\u2019t adequate\u2019 after Test coach exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Brendon McCullum has apologised to England cricket fans after admitting his Test team \u201cweren\u2019t adequate\u201d following his dismissal as red-ball head coach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

McCullum will remain in control of the limited-overs set-up but was axed from the red-ball role he had held since 2022 after overseeing seven defeats within the last nine matches.<\/p>\n

The Recent Zealander was euphemistically said to have \u201cstood down\u201d in an official England and Wales Cricket Board statement released on Sunday, but was quick to confess that he had been pushed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I got a faucet on the shoulder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\"England\"England
END OF THE ROAD: Brendon McCullum left his role as England Test head coach on Sunday.
PICTURE: David Davies\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Dissatisfied<\/h2>\n

\u201cI used to be disenchanted but at the identical time I fully respect the choice. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a results business and fundamentally our results weren\u2019t adequate. It\u2019s time for another person to have a go.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t at all times get it right. For that, I put my hand up and say we weren\u2019t in a position to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2-1 defeat to Recent Zealand spelled the tip of his Test tenure but he was already hanging by a thread within the aftermath of a chaotic 4-1 defeat within the Ashes over the winter.<\/p>\n

That prolonged a poor record within the flagship contests against the opposite members of the so-called \u2018big three\u2019, losing away to Australia and India and drawing 2-2 against each on home soil.<\/p>\n

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\"England\"England
FORCED OUT: Brendon McCullum admitted his Test exit got here after a \u2018tap on the shoulder\u2019 from the ECB.
PICTURE: Jacob King\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Sorry<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe just weren\u2019t quite in a position to win those big series, against India and Australia, the 2 marquee series,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just weren\u2019t in a position to get the outcomes and for that I assume I can only ask for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be the leader of that group. I used to be in control of the team culturally, in control of the team tactically, in control of the team results-wise as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you happen to don\u2019t get the outcomes, being a results business, fundamentally you get replaced. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not unaccustomed to that, I\u2019ve been around this game for 20-odd years and I do know if you happen to aren\u2019t getting the outcomes, another person needs a possibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put my hand up for that and accept it wasn\u2019t adequate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Australia\u2019s\"Australia\u2019s
ASHES PAIN: Brendon McCullum, left, congratulates Australia captain Pat Cummins during last winter\u2019s Ashes.
PICTURE: Robbie Stephenson\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Fresh headache<\/h2>\n

McCullum was speaking at Edgbaston, fresh from a 4-0 win over India within the Vitality T20 series and on the eve of a three-match ODI leg.<\/p>\n

The footprint of his job may have contracted considerably but for managing director Rob Key the thorny issue of balancing a split coaching set-up will provide a fresh headache.<\/p>\n

England have been down that road twice before \u2013 Andy Flower and Ashley Giles butting heads over player availability from 2012-14, while McCullum\u2019s star power nudged Matthew Mott right into a clearly junior role once they began together 4 years ago.<\/p>\n

Flower, a three-time Ashes winner who led England to primary within 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.<\/p>\n

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\"Rob\"Rob
SPLIT DUTY: Rob Key, left, may have to administer separate Test and limited-overs coaches.
PICTURE: Robbie Stephenson\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Romantic<\/h2>\n

\u201cOnce the brand new coach comes into play we are going to sit down and unpick loads of these items,\u201d McCullum said of the twin approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got different staff, players, schedules are different, obviously captaincy discussions, nevertheless it\u2019s about what is correct for English cricket. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that might be a collaborative process. I also wish the brand new Test coach all one of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCullum told BBC Sport there was a poetic element to the timing of his departure, lower than two weeks since his former captain\u2019s dramatic Trent Bridge farewell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got some nice messages from Stokesy, actually. I assume, in a romantic form of way there\u2019s something about Stokesy and me going out together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe began it together and we exit together, and I actually have no problem with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/em><\/strong> Brendon McCullum sacked as England Test coach but stays in control of white-ball set-up<\/p>\n

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Brendon McCullum has apologised to England cricket fans after admitting his Test team \u201cweren\u2019t adequate\u201d following his dismissal as red-ball head coach. McCullum will remain in control of the limited-overs set-up but was axed from the red-ball role he had held since 2022 after overseeing seven defeats within the last nine matches. The Recent Zealander […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":366655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20675],"tags":[16684,835,5386,1475,4087,16685,4344,20285],"class_list":["post-366654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","tag-brendon","tag-coach","tag-england","tag-exit","tag-good","tag-mccullum","tag-test","tag-werent"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t