By The Skin Of Their Teeth

After a calamatous Ashes series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) underwent an extensive review to sort out the mess. At its worst, Rob Key; Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes were all at risk of losing their positions.

Alas, the investigation has concluded and all three have retained their respective positions. The outcome of the investigation has created a stir of talking points.

Brendon McCullum and Rob Key have been backed to lead England’s response to the grisly winter Ashes defeat in Australia, with Richard Gould, the chief executive of the ECB, insisting that while it may not be a popular decision it is the right one.

At Lord’s on Monday and with Key, the managing director of cricket, sitting next to him, Gould stressed that lessons have been learned from the 4-1 defeat and that the head coach in particular is willing to "adapt" and "evolve" his style. Even with an appetite for change among the public, the status quo holds, as revealed exclusively by the Guardian this month.

Later in the day, the Test captain, Ben Stokes, endorsed the ECB’s decision in an expletive-filled open letter to supporters on Instagram.

Gould said: "We do keep a very close eye on all of our supporters. But neither are we going to select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign. We’re going to do it based on good judgment and objective views."

"My old man was a football manager [the former Wimbledon and Wales coach Bobby Gould] and sacking was part of the job. But it didn’t necessarily do the right thing. Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That’s not the route we’re going to take."

"I’ve seen the driving ambition and determination we’re lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes. It may not be the popular route, it may not be the easiest route, but I think it’s the right route."

While a two-month internal review into the Ashes gives the impression of the ECB marking its own homework, Gould, without naming names, said he had spoken to outsiders. The review will not be published, although two slides with bullet points were presented to the media.

One was essentially a list of names in the selection process, the other being areas of particular focus. These included better use of the performance system, better long‑term planning and improved culture and environment – i.e, greater professionalism in the senior men’s set-up.

The latter became an acute talking point over the winter, including the mid-Ashes break in Noosa that invited headlines about drinking. It then came to a head when it was revealed that Harry Brook had been disciplined for a drunken altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand the evening before he was due to captain England in a one‑day international.

Gould described it as "significantly unprofessional," while Key said that while he considered sacking Brook as white-ball captain, his previous clean slate in this regard – plus the decision to put England ahead of playing in the Indian Premier League – called for a second chance.

The upshot during the second half of the winter was the introduction of a midnight curfew, something Gould said simply formalised McCullum’s belief that nothing good ever comes from being out late. "We want to give people the freedom to make their own decisions, but sometimes we also need to provide them with more strict parameters."

In terms of performance, Key put plenty of stock in the recent appointment of Troy Cooley, who worked with quick bowlers in the 2005 Ashes‑winning side and returns to oversee the fast-bowling landscape more broadly. There was also an acceptance that communication with the counties needs to improve, with various directors of cricket invited to a meeting this week. "You just want to lift English cricket up as much as you can in all departments," Key said.

In regard to the Test team, there was an admission from Key that McCullum and Stokes had different outlooks at times – McCullum more aggressive, Stokes more conservative – but this was healthy.

"There’s been no big argument, no big bust-up," he said. "Everyone’s always trying, when you’re under pressure, especially against a very good side, to be able to make decisions and help people perform under the toughest conditions."

"What we’ve really all agreed on now is that we don’t want a massive change of style. We don’t want a change of philosophy so you’re asking Brendon McCullum to be someone completely different. Because as a leader, if you’re not authentic you’re done."

In his open letter to supporters, Stokes wrote: "Baz, Rob and myself have the passion and desire to take this team forward. We are going to give you everything we have. We know we made mistakes along the way and we have learnt from those mistakes. You learn more from failure than success."

"I have learnt a lot about myself but the most important thing that I want the fans to know is that … I F*****G love cricket, I F*****G love this team, I F*****G love being England captain and I have got so much more to give to this role and I’m so happy that I get to do it with Baz and Rob."

Brendon McCullum has been told he must improve relations with the counties after being backed to stay on as England coach despite this winter’s 4-1 Ashes defeat.

In addition, the ECB has made clear to McCullum that more effort should be made to build good relationships with the counties, many of whom feel marginalised by the coach’s approach to selection.

The Surrey head coach, Gareth Batty, appeared to speak for many in the game last week when he said that the pathway between county and international cricket had become "misted over," despite the fact that five Surrey players were on the Ashes tour; with three in England’s T20 World Cup squad.

Key has taken the first step by inviting the 18 county directors of cricket to Lord’s for a meeting next week to discuss their selection strategy, which will also be attended by the ECB’s performance director, Ed Barney.

The ECB is also in the process of appointing a new national selector to replace Luke Wright, who stood down after the World Cup for personal reasons.

Ex-England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, maintains both head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key have been "very, very lucky" to keep their jobs following a disastrous away Ashes defeat.

As well as falling to a 4-1 defeat in Australia, England’s preparation came under scrutiny, as well as selection and player behaviour, following a mid-tour break in Noosa.

After the ECB’s thorough review, McCullum and Key remain, while captain Ben Stokes also continues, but Vaughan was left baffled by the outcome.

Vaughan told the BBC’s Test Match Special: "I think they’re very, very lucky. There’s not many management groups that deliver something so poor away from home in an Ashes series and get the chance to carry on."

"They seem to me it’s like a football management team. I actually felt if one went, they all went. They’ve had some exciting times but they haven’t won enough. What England fans are looking for now is, what change (will happen)?"

Key admitted mistakes were made and promised a change of approach to selection.

"We’ve overvalued loyalty and overvalued having a settled team," he said. "We thought what we wanted to do is make sure we have a team that is settled out there."

"But what that does is it creates an environment where there’s not enough consequence. We need to be more ruthless with our selection."

Vaughan also expressed disappointment that McCullum will not return to his role until May ahead of a Test series against his native New Zealand starting in early June.

"I think at this stage, when you’re trying to win back the fans, trying to win back a little bit of the game, if I was Brendon McCullum I’d come a few weeks earlier, get seen around the counties," he added.

The decision by the English Cricket Board to retain McCullum as coach, Ben Stokes as captain and the managing director Rob Key after the "Bazball" team underperformed amid instances of poor discipline has drawn contrasting views.

It is less than one year until England is back in Australia for the 150th Anniversary Test at the MCG and only 15 months until the return bout of the Ashes in the UK, a factor former Aussie wicketkeeper, Adam Gilchrist, believes fell in favour of the current regime.

"It’s only 14 or 15 months till that Ashes return series starts, so you probably think, 'well, it might be a bit too short a term to put a whole broom through and start a fresh approach with someone else'," Gilchrist said.

"So maybe that’s worked in their favour, and the fact that the recently completed T20 World Cup was on, of course, and they got through and ended up having a pretty successful tournament in that regard (also helped)."

Gilchrist and another former Aussie, Mark Waugh, were speaking to foxsports.com.au after the announcement this week of a blockbuster schedule for next summer that culminates in the 150th Anniversary Test at the MCG in March and includes tours of South African and India.

Their views regarding the retention of McCullum mirror the assessment of former English captain, Michael Atherton, who wrote in The Times that the "ECB has little appetite at this stage for significant upheaval and a hefty payout”."

As a result, those responsible for making the mistakes have been backed by the ECB to police and rectify them, a decision which bemused but did not surprise several former England and Australian cricketers.

Gilchrist said while England will clearly be more comfortable in a home series, they have to recognise and improve on areas that were below par in Australia, noting it is clear there are those in England at odds with the status quo.

Liam Livingstone, who played 100 games for England in all formats, raised concerns prior to the confirmation that McCullum and co. would survive when talking about his own experiences with the current coaching regime last week.

He noted he had been provided little feedback when requesting coaching advice and that communication with McCullum and Key was minimal when he was on the fringe of the English team.

Gilchrist cited this example as an indication that there were cracks in the current system that needed consideration.

"Look, they’ve got to change something," he said. "The more we learnt (about the) ill-discipline that was filtering throughout that group, where it didn’t seem to allow them to play their best cricket - whether that’s an accurate assessment, that’s the observation, because we didn’t know much through (the summer) - but all we saw and heard about was, 'We’re all good. We’re happy. The tent is happy',"

"But already there’s some little fractures appearing from other people’s comments that weren’t so comfortable, the likes of Liam Livingstone and so on. But they’ve survived. It’s up to them now whether they think they need to change the approach."

Waugh felt the future of the cohort was in the balance leaving Australia and that, having been given an opportunity, they need to tinker with the way they have approached Test cricket.

"It was probably a 50-50 call," he said. "A lot of people probably thought England maybe needed a new direction but they have showed faith in Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes who, since they have taken over, had done a pretty good job initially playing games and winning with a very positive attitude. But in the real tests against the top teams they have fallen short."

"But there is no doubt they have to change their ways. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, they are not stupid. They will realise the mistakes they made on the tour in Australia. They are going to have a chance to turn that around."

That includes making changes to the ultra-aggressive approach dubbed "BazBall" which, on flat tracks, enabled England’s batters to score runs freely but fell apart against a good attack in spicier conditions in Australia.

"The basics of playing cricket and playing to win, that is really good, but you need more than one game plan, especially against good teams. You are probably going to lose games you should win if you are just going to play one way," Waugh said.

"I’m sure they will have learnt their lessons, and if they haven’t learnt their lessons, they are going to get the same results for the next 12 months and lose more than they win. The proof is going to be in the pudding. Let’s see if they learn from their mistakes."

Former England captains, Michael Vaughan, a Fox Cricket expert analyst and Alastair Cook, hosted Key on a BBC Podcast after the decision was announced on Monday, with the latter bemused by the amount of "management speak” used.

"It just got a bit confusing there. And you’re right. It...feels like a cult," Cook said.

"(Key’s) played international cricket. He was a great pundit on Sky. He’s not daft. He’s definitely not daft. But the perception that comes across...is McCullum was going to do it his way and if you weren’t going to do it his way, whether you’re the managing director of England cricket or the players, then tough, because it was Brendon’s way or the highway."

"That’s how it comes across. That might not be right, but that’s how it comes across."

Irrespective of the review, Gilchrist is well aware that the English team will be harder to defeat at home. He feels the fallout from the most recent summer will add to the hype surrounding the next series.

The Ashes series away falls at the end of a run of Test cricket for Australia that Gilchrist said was exceptional given the Aussies face England, South Africa and India away along with Bangladesh and New Zealand at home.

"Of course, playing in the conditions in England are going to be a little bit more suited to them, so to speak," he said.

"It’s all going to make for another intriguing build up, isn’t it? Already we’re talking about it. Australia’s got so much to play up until then. Who knows what the line-up of Australia looks like? So it’ll make another exciting build up."

Former England opener, Geoffrey Boycott, bemoaned a lack of accountability in the ECB after not making changes, suggesting Key and McCullum had "sabotaged" the Ashes campaign.

"Like me, cricket supporters will be asking how ‌McCullum and Key could make so many bad decisions on the Australian tour and yet the chief executive of ​English cricket decides there is no need to make any changes. Where is the accountability?" Boycott wrote in the Telegraph.

"I'm sure they promised him they would do better, ​but leopards don't change their spots, so it looks like we will ⁠get the same type of Test cricket."

"In trying to create a free-spirited team, he has made them too comfortable and complacent. They know they will not get dropped, whatever their performances ‌or conduct on or off the field.

"It looks like a boys' club where, once you are in the team, it is hard to get out... competition for places is the lifeblood of sport. Complacency in a team does not breed a good appetite to excel."

I'm not surprised at all by the decision. Despite the bad publicity, the ECB still feels like things are going well. Additionally, I'm not expecting any changes; despite them saying it.

In times like these, people in these particular situations will say anything to appease people. The same players will get picked and they will play the same style as they previously did.

As the idiom goes: a leopard never changes its spots.