Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called for head coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key to resign following Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from international cricket this week.
Stokes announced the news on Sunday, ending his reign as skipper with a series defeat to New Zealand as England lost by 160 runs at Trent Bridge.
That result continued England’s poor red-ball form. They have now won just two of their last 10 Test matches over the last year after defeats to Australia and New Zealand and a home draw with India.
Vaughan feels “enough is enough” and told the Stick to Cricket podcast: “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.
“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 which was a two-dayer, so the only two games that we’ve won have been on farmers’ fields. 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 back yard laughing at you, enough is enough. We need to move on.”
Key succeeded Ashley Giles as managing director of cricket in 2022 and oversees the coaching and selection set-up.
Key brought McCullum in as England’s Test coach in May 2022 but the New Zealander was then appointed across all three formats in September 2024, despite Key previously saying there would be different coaches across the different formats.
England’s results across other formats have suffered too, leading Vaughan to suggest that Key’s job should also be questioned.
He added: “I’m so frustrated watching it, it’s laughable.
“You’ve got to say that Rob Key’s job is on the line. It has to be on the line. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rob Key goes.
“They’re not being well coached. You are telling me if Andy Flower was in charge…this team would be getting the results they are getting? No chance.”
