England Sack McCullum as Test Coach After Losing 7 of 9, Keep Him for White-Ball

Q: Who now holds the power to define England's future amid a leadership vacuum and strategic overhaul?

The power now sits primarily with the ECB, with director of cricket Rob Key at the centre of the immediate reset. With Ben Stokes gone and Brendon McCullum removed from the Test role, the England and Wales Cricket Board is the body that will define the next phase of Test cricket. It controls the two decisions that matter most in the short term: appointing a new Test head coach and approving the next captain before the Pakistan series on August 19. In practice, Key is the key operator. He remains in post despite the collapse of the Bazball project, the poor run of seven defeats in nine Tests, and the off-field controversies that damaged the team’s credibility. He will drive the coaching search, with Andy Flower a leading candidate, and he is expected to have major influence over whether Harry Brook becomes captain. The ECB’s power extends beyond personnel. It is also reshaping England’s long-term Test strategy through scheduling, including more marquee five-Test home series and more one-off away Tests under the expanded World Test Championship. That means the board is not just filling a vacuum; it is redesigning the structure around the team. Others will matter, especially the incoming coach and likely captain, but they have not yet been installed. Until they are, England’s future is being defined above all by the ECB, and most directly by Rob Key.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 12

Two weeks after Ben Stokes quit as captain and retired, England removed Brendon McCullum as Test coach, leaving the side without a captain or head coach before Pakistan arrive on 19 August.
Seven defeats in England's past nine Tests — including a 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia and a 2-1 home series defeat by New Zealand — drove the decision, alongside off-field incidents that deepened scrutiny.
McCullum will stay on as white-ball coach, where England just completed a 4-0 T20 sweep of world champions India and moved to number one in the rankings.
Harry Brook is the leading candidate to captain the Test side, though that choice may depend on the new coach, with Andy Flower among the standout replacement options.
The move closes the Bazball era that began with 10 wins in 11 Tests under McCullum and Stokes before fading to 17 wins and 19 losses across the next 38.