Sir Geoffrey Boycott believes England should part company with their coach Brendon McCullum in the wake of their dismal 82-run defeat by Australia in Adelaide.
Australia retained the urn inside just 11 days with England having still not won a Test match Down Under since Andrew Strauss’ side won on away soil during the 2010-11 series.
Despite a gallant comeback on the final day of the third Test, the tourists could not wrestle the match back from Australia, who have been superior across the board during this series.
Boycott insisted that Stokes and McCullum deserved some credit for how they have changed the team since they took the reins in 2022.
However, writing in his column in The Telegraph, the former England batsman called on the side to play with more pragmatism, do away with Bazball, and ultimately hire a new coach.
‘A lot of credit should go to Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes for what they have done for our cricket but it is obvious that Bazball has run its race,’ Boycott wrote in his column in The Telegraph.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott believes England should part company with their coach Brendon McCullum (pictured) in the wake of their dismal 82-run defeat by Australia in Adelaide
Writing in his column in The Telegraph, Boycott (pictured) called for the side to play with more pragmatism, do away with Bazball, and ultimately hire a new coach
Boycott added: ‘Hubris has taken over from common sense and that cannot be allowed to carry on.
‘Stokes and McCullum are like men digging a hole to nowhere. If what you are doing isn’t working, then stop digging.
‘Change is absolutely necessary to step up to the next level. What would I do? Change the coach.’
He then called on ECB managing director Rob Key to take action.
‘We are tired of this duo talking a good game but not delivering against the best teams so Rob Key, it is time for you to assert yourself.’
Boycott, who scored 8,114 runs across 108 Tests, is one of several former England players to have questioned the team’s preparations in the build-up to this year’s Ashes series.
He added that greater importance needs to be placed on getting England’s stars playing red ball cricket and competing in the County Championship more regularly.
It comes after Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg claimed he wanted to open up pathways to get more English players travelling Down Under to play in the Sheffield Shield, in a bid to help the English stars become better acclimatised to the Aussie conditions.
It came after Australia retained the Ashes, taking a 3-0 lead in the series after just 11 days of cricket
McCullum, meanwhile, conceded on Sunday that England had got their preparations wrong.
‘Ultimately, you are responsible for how you get your side ready and how you prepare them,’ said McCullum. ‘We had conviction in our methods in terms of preparation, not just leading into the first Test but also in between Tests. I look back now and think, did we need more leading into the first and did we need less leading into the second?
‘They are the changes over time you look back on and say: “Would I do it differently?” We lost 3–0, so you would probably say there was room for change there. Again, you put your hand up as a coach and say you might not have gotten that right. Sitting here 3–0, it didn’t work.’
Much had been made of England’s strength in the build-up to this series, with Stuart Broad claiming that this was England’s strongest side since 2010. He had also added that this was ‘the worst Australian team’ England had faced since they last won Down Under.
But now, after losing the Ashes in 11 days, former Aussie great Ricky Ponting has slammed the Bazballers, concurring with Boycott that they haven’t played the right style of cricket that is suitable for the Aussie conditions.
‘There was a lot talked about in the build-up about how good England were, they’ve come in with their best team and best squad they’ve come with this century,’ Ponting told Channel 7.
‘Well, the series is done within 11 days — they’ve been very disappointing.
‘I thought this would be a close series, I tipped Australia to win the series 3-2, but so far, they just haven’t turned up to play the brand of cricket that’s good enough to win an Ashes series.’
Australia retained the urn inside just 11 days with England having still not won a Test match Down Under since Andrew Strauss’ side won on away soil during the 2010-11 series
While there was a hint of frustration at the lack of competition, Ponting jubilantly celebrated the dominant Aussie victory.
‘It doesn’t get any better,’ he said. ‘The only way it gets better for Australia is if they go 4-0 up next week and 5-0 up at the end. That is the only way it can get better,’ Ponting said on Channel 7.
‘This is the pinnacle of our sport. The reason that we want to play the game as kids growing up in the backyard is all about moments like this, it’s all about Ashes cricket.’
‘To think that we’re only 11 days into the series and Australia are now 3-0 up, they have been so dominant.’