Brendon McCullum breaks silence as calls grow for his sacking after Ashes debacle: ‘Not really up to me’

England coach Brendon McCullum reacts as calls grow for his sacking after the Ashes debacle.

England head coach Brendon McCullum is facing some serious criticism after the Ben Stokes-led side conceded the Ashes in just 11 days by losing the first three Tests. Ever since taking over the reins of the Test side in 2022, England have not defeated Australia or India in a series, and the ‘Bazball’ approach failed to work against the big two teams. England had its best chance in 15 years to win a series Down Under, as Australia was without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for the first two Tests, and Steve Smith also missed the third Test in Adelaide.

Brendon McCullum reacts as calls grow for his sacking after the Ashes debacle. (AFP)

However, it wasn't meant to be as Australia registered emphatic wins in the opening three Tests and England only showed some fight in the Adelaide Test, where the loss margin was under 100 runs.

Amid the Ashes debacle, where the threat of a whitewash looms large, there have been several calls for McCullum to be sacked. Former England batter Sir Geoffrey Boycott has already called for the former New Zealand wicketkeeper to resign from the post, as a fresh perspective is needed.

McCullum finally broke his silence on the matter, saying his future with England is not entirely in his hands, as the final decision will be made by the higher authorities.

"I don't know," he said when quizzed whether he would be in charge of the Test side for the start of the 2026 English summer. “It's not really up to me, is it?” ESPNCricinfo quoted McCullum as saying.

“I'll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that [we] haven't quite got right here and try to make some adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me. It's a pretty good gig. It's good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things ... For me, it's a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them,” he added.

‘Enjoying the time’

However, McCullum did make it clear that he is currently enjoying his time as the England coach and would love to continue if he's deemed fit for the role going ahead.

“Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I'm enjoying the time that I've got with these guys, and I think we've made some progress from when I took over to where we are. We're not the finished article, but I think we've definitely improved as a cricket team. We've had an identity about us. Now's the time for us in the last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from it,” said McCullum.

It is worth mentioning that at the start of 2024, England has lost more Tests (13) than they have won (12), and the overall record of McCullum and Stokes stands at 25 wins and 17 defeats in 44 matches.

Speaking of the Ashes, England will now aim to register a consolidation win in the Boxing Day Test, set to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26.