Brendon McCullum faces possibility of getting sacked as England coach as ECB prepares 'ultimatum' after Ashes: Report

Brendon McCullum faces the possibility of getting sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board in the near future despite England winning a Test on Australian soil for the first time in nearly 15 years under his watch.

England fought back impressively in the fourth Test in Melbourne, where they walked away with a four-wicket victory at the end of a two-day contest. The Ben Stokes-led visitors, however, had already surrendered the Ashes at that point by losing the first three Tests in just 11 days of play, including an eight-wicket thrashing inside two days in the series opener in Perth.

And with the hosts gaining a massive lead at the end of Day 3 in the fifth and final Test at Sydney, England face the possibility of flying out of Australia with a 1-4 series defeat. Stokes and Co had suffered a series loss with a similar scoreline when they had toured India in early 2024, losing four in a row against the Rohit Sharma-led hosts after going 1-0 up in Hyderabad.

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ECB to ask Brendon McCullum to make ‘major changes’ in England team

According to a report on The Telegraph, the ECB is preparing an ‘ultimatum’ for the former New Zealand captain after the Ashes, and will ask him to make ‘major changes to the team’s environment and culture’.

How McCullum responds to the ultimatum will decide whether he gets retained for the upcoming season, which comprises three Tests each against New Zealand and Pakistan as well as limited-overs fixtures against India and Sri Lanka.

Besides McCullum, Test captain Stokes and Director of Cricket Rob Key are also under pressure after the hat-trick of defeats Down Under in record time. The report, however, adds that Stokes’ position is the safest of the trio and his feedback during the post-series review could also determine whether McCullum remains coach or not.

Stokes has so far remained supportive of McCullum and had recently remarked that they were the right people to steer the team forward after a forgettable trip Down Under.

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“There is no doubt in my mind that Brendon and I are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have worked with Brendon. I cannot see there being someone else who I could take this team with from where we are now to even bigger heights,” Stokes had said ahead of the ‘New Year’s Test’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

McCullum had joined England as their Test coach in the summer of 2022 dramatically improving their fortunes in the five-day format upon his arrival. England won 12 of their first 13 games, with their ultra-aggressive brand of cricket dubbed ‘Bazball’ being a key reason for the success.

He would later become England’s head coach across formats in September 2024, with Matthew Mott getting sacked after two disappointing campaigns – the 2023 World Cup as well as the 2024 T20 World Cup.

And even if the ECB decide to remove McCullum from the job, they aren’t likely to make any announcement until the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup, which gets underway on 7 February.