England sack two members of support staff right before India's visit for five-Test series; here's why
The ECB has parted ways with two members of their support staff ahead of India's visit for a five-Test series.
England’s dressing room will be without its two data analysts when the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle begins against India next month. The England and Wales Cricket Board has parted company with its two most prominent number-crunchers, senior analyst Nathan Leamon and white-ball specialist Freddie Wilde, signalling a decisive soft-reset away from the data-heavy methods that underpinned the country’s white-ball revolution. The move was reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Leamon has been a fixture since 2009, masterminding the Monte-Carlo simulations and coded balcony signals that Eoin Morgan used to plot England’s ODI and T20 World Cup triumphs. Wilde, who joined the national set-up last year while doubling as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s analyst, helped refine those match-ups in the shorter formats.
But neither man will be on duty for the three-match ODI and T20I series against West Indies later this month – Harry Brook’s first assignment as limited-overs captain – and their contracts will not roll into the five-Test tour of India that opens at Headingley on 20 June.
Head coach Brendon McCullum, hired in 2022 to inject freedom and instinct into a faltering Test side, is the driving force behind the shift. McCullum has long argued that deep statistical scouting is better suited for franchise T20, where short tournaments and smaller sample sizes expose repeatable weaknesses.
At the international level, he believes, opponents are too rounded for data alone to confer an edge, and an overstocked backroom only clutters minds. The ECB hierarchy agrees: players will still have access to raw information, but the onus will be on each individual to digest it – or not – as they see fit.
The departure of Leamon and Wilde will save money and streamline match-day entourages; Rupert Lewis, the current red-ball analyst, is expected to absorb both roles. For England’s analysts, the booming global franchise circuit offers an immediate landing spot.
Whether the change sharpens performance or erodes a competitive advantage will be tested quickly. India, even in transition after the Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, remain formidable. By contrast, England’s red-ball fortunes have nosedived despite the famed ‘Bazball’ approach, with the side failing to qualify in a WTC Final for a third successive time.
