The Bazball Ultimatum

The 5th Ashes Test has ended. Australia recovered well from their loss in the 4th Test by winning by 5 wickets. With the conclusion of this Test, the series has been concluded. Australia won 4-1. As a result of the thrashing, the English are looking for answers as to why this occured. On top of all this is the position of head coach, Brendon McCullum and his coaching tactics.

Brendon McCullum’s future as coach of England's men's national team has come under intense scrutiny. With England being outplayed and crumbling to yet another series defeat in Australia, despite big talk regarding their chances against a relatively weaker Australian team.

Largely, the concerns with McCullum have had more to do with the environment and the culture surrounding the English Test team. While the Bazball tag earned England a lot of famous wins, it was always geared towards this series: England's failures on this tour have seen the philosophy reach the end of its rope.

As a result, The Telegraph in England has reported that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to provide the English coach an ‘ultimatum’ following the series, which will be contingent on a change in culture and acceptance of some edits needed in how the team operates.

The report also indicates that the ECB is already undertaking a review of the Test team after England crumbled to three losses in the first three Ashes matches. The review is being undertaken by chief executive, Richard Gould and chairman, Richard Thompson, both of whom were in attendance at the SCG for the final match of the series.

The ECB’s demands of McCullum also constitutes an importance placed on the team's behaviour off the field, with a drinking habit coming into light and causing a lot of criticism after certain players were caught on camera being heavily intoxicated and under the influence during a break in the Queensland beach resort town of Noosa.

Brendon McCullum won’t be changing his approach even if his job will be at risk after the failed mission to regain the Ashes in Australia. The ECB is already in the early stages of a review into the series loss which ended in a 4-1 thumping after they went down on the final day of the fifth Test in Sydney by five wickets.

According to a report in The Telegraph, captain Ben Stokes’ position is safe but questions will be asked of McCullum and director of cricket, Rob Key.

McCullum is set to be told he needs to make significant changes to the team environment and that the culture has to "become more professional and robust."

When asked after the fifth Test whether he will be altering his coaching methods, McCullum responded with, “I think you know the answer to that. For me, you’ve got to have conviction in your methods. It doesn’t mean you’re not against evolution and progress but you’ve got to have conviction of what you believe. And it’s about nipping and tucking to try and get a better version of your style and your beliefs so we’ll see what happens. But I firmly believe in how we go about trying to build this team and press on with what we’ve done. Whether you get the opportunity is out of your hands."

The England squad was accused of behaving like they were on a stag do during a mid-tour break in Noosa with several players drinking heavily for the majority of the six-day stopover. Key cleared them of any wrongdoing but it was a bad look for a team in the midst of three straight losses to lose the Ashes with two matches to play.

They rebounded with a win on a tricky pitch in Melbourne and battled on in Sydney but they were mostly outplayed by Australia in all facets of the game.

In particular, critics have pointed the finger at the high-risk "Bazball" approach to the game along with questions about the levels of preparation for the tour, which saw England quickly fall to an insurmountable 3-0 deficit.

Ben Stokes says he wants to carry on as England captain and has backed coach Brendon McCullum despite concluding the Ashes series with a 4-1 defeat to Australia. England lost the fifth and final test of a deeply disappointing series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday and the loss will do little to dampen the criticism of the way the team approached the campaign.

The 34-year-old all-rounder, though, said he wanted to remain as captain for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand and Pakistan.

"(I’m) definitely, keen as anything to carry on," he told reporters. "I love having a challenge thrown at me and at the moment the challenge is getting the team back to where we once were in terms of the performances that we were delivering."

When asked about McCullum's position, Stokes gave his full backing to the New Zealander, who has a contract until after the 2027 home series against the Australians and said he expected him to remain in his role.

"I do expect him to be (in charge) but again it's not my decision," he said. "I'm sure if it ever ... comes to it, I'll be asked my opinion and he'll be getting my full support and backing. I absolutely love working with Baz. He's a great man and he's a very, very good coach. You know there's more that goes on behind the scenes than he'll ever give away and than he'll ever let out."

Critics, such as former England captain, Michael Vaughan, have said that McCullum will need to accept that his approach has failed and agree to a different style for the team.

When asked about being given such instruction from his bosses at the ECB, the coach was far from welcoming of the idea. "I am not against assistance but have a firm belief in how to get the best out of these players," McCullum told the BBC. "I will look at it individually and say, 'what could I have done better?' Am I for being told what to do? Of course I am not. But at the same time I'm not thinking there won't be areas to improve."

Stokes appeared sympathetic to McCullum's stance. "Me and Brendon, we know how to run a dressing room, we know how to try and give the lads the best possible chance of being as good as they can be," he added.

"Everyone's got an opinion how things should be run and kind of stuff like that. So it is always tough. But I would never try to tell someone who runs a huge business what they should do because I haven't got any expertise in that whatsoever."

While quick to back his coach, Stokes was frank in his assessment of England’s recent form, which includes a drawn series at home to India, suggesting opponents might have worked out 'Bazball'.

"I think that we are now playing against teams who have answers to the style of cricket that we have been playing over quite a long period of time now," he said. "I think in the first couple of years, teams found it difficult to try and come up with anything to come to combat the way that we played but now teams are I think coming up with plans that (are) standing up to a certain style of cricket that we want to play."

"When you come up against a team like Australia out here, who know how to play cricket out here and you are adding to your own downfall then you're going to end up losing the series 4-1 like we have done."

Stokes accepted that England need to rethink their approach in order to win the big series. "When a trend is happening on a consistent basis ...that's when you do need to go back and look at the drawing board and make some adjustments," he added.

McCullum won't be giving up on the 'Bazball' philosophy despite an underwhelming away Ashes campaign in which they suffered a 4-1 series defeat against Australia. After surrendering the Ashes with an unassailable 3-0 scoreline in just 11 days of play, the Ben Stokes-led visitors had briefly fought back in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where they collected a four-wicket victory in a two-day affair to end a 15-year winless run Down Under.

Speaking to Sky Sports following defeat at Sydney on Thursday, McCullum insisted that while he was open to changes and evolving as a team, England won't be abandoning their core principles and undergoing an overhaul till the time he’s around.

“It is not about ripping up our script completely. From when we took over to where we are now, we are a better cricket team. I take offence to (any suggestion I don’t want to evolve). I am not against evolution, I welcome it. I am not rigid in my beliefs but I have conviction in my methods. That doesn’t mean you are blind to progress but to throw everything out that has worked in pursuit of something completely unknown doesn’t make any sense,” said McCullum.

'Baz' added that he remains keen to carry on in the role despite finding himself in the firing line after a forgettable couple of months Down Under, adding that the team could progress in the coming years if they stick to the principles that had brought them so much success in the past.

"I am keen to carry on in the role. Those decisions ultimately aren’t up to me but the lessons we will digest from this tour and what we have built, it would be a shame to rip that up and chase something no one knows whether it will be successful."

"If we stay true to what we believe in we give ourselves a good opportunity to progress as a team over the next few years. In this series, we have been pretty poor in the key moments so it was a real missed opportunity," added the 44-year-old, who had taken over as England’s red-ball coach in 2022, with the white-ball teams being added to his role two years later.

England have won the Ashes on Australian soil just once since their 1986-87 tour – under Andrew Strauss’ leadership in 2010-11 in which they won by a handsome 3-1 margin. They were, however, heavily backed to end Australia’s home dominance this winter, considering the success they had experienced in the Test arena since Stokes and McCullum took over as red-ball captain and head coach, respectively.

The chastening series defeat, however, puts the 'Bazball' philosophy of prioritising an ultra-aggressive brand of cricket over what is considered a standard approach for the format will come under scrutiny. It is, after all, their third loss in their last four overseas Test assignment, having also suffered a 4-1 series loss in India two years ago along with a 2-1 defeat in Pakistan later in 2024.

There are even were reports of McCullum being shown the door by the ECB after the Ashes loss but is appears the former New Zealand captain will retain his job for now, albeit with the axe hanging over his head.

Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, has called for a major change in his country’s international cricket culture which he has likened to a "cult" and described as "nonsense." England came to Australia this summer seeking a first away Ashes victory in 15 years and their first five-Test series victory anywhere since 2017.

"For Australia to have had so many great players missing – and it looks to me they are going to win the series 4-1 – tells you that English cricket have got a few home truths to answer about playing cricket in Australia," Vaughan said on Fox Sports News' Ashes Daily

"There’s a frustration, not just with ex-England players but I think a lot of the ex-Aussie players. We generally all felt this England side — with the talent that they have led by Ben and Baz — had a great opportunity here in Australia. I’ve mentioned all the Aussie greats that haven’t played, this was a chance for England and haven’t taken it."

"Their preparation was very poor. Their stubbornness in the way that they play has been very poor for a while now. They haven’t accepted that you need to go up and down the gears in Test match cricket. Obviously, their bowling has been found wanting."

"This England group have got a lot of thinking to do, a lot of accepting that things haven’t been right. We know at the end of Ashes tours – particularly when you’ve had two goes at trying to win the Ashes – generally personnel does change. But if this management carries on, they clearly have to carry on and change," Vaughan continued.

"They have to change the culture around the group. They seem to have created a cult around the way this team play and talk. A lot of it is nonsense and that has to change. For English cricket to get back to winning Test series and five-match series, you have to remember they haven’t won a five-match series since 2017…they’ve had some flamboyant times and exciting times in recent years, but they haven’t won a big, big series – and that’s what English cricket has been known for, for 20-odd years."

While captain Stokes has shown moments of defiance, the tactical side of his game has been easily outshone in comparison to stand-in Australia, Steve Smith — and Cummins during his one Test in Adelaide.

"The one thing I thought I’d never say, Ben Stokes’ tactics haven’t been quite right on this trip either," revealed Vaughan.

"He’s given it everything. Stokes, up until this series, I put him right up there with some of England’s greatest ever captains. Some of his tactics over the course of the last three years have been absolutely fantastic."

"I look at the way he’s managed a young spinner like Shoaib Bashir – who hasn’t played on this trip – Ben Stokes has got the best out of him. For whatever reason on this tour, his tactical side of his job has not been with him."

"For him not to have taken at least one new ball throughout this tour is staggering. For him to have bowled the donkey overs – from 66 to 80 – with the old ball and not take that second new ball when England had to win that moment, again, was remarkable."

"Josh Tongue opens the bowling back home for Nottingham, (but) he hasn’t opened the bowling here. He’s been, with Ben, England’s best bowler. Brydon Carse doesn’t open the bowling back home, (but) he has opened the bowling here. He’s (been) tried with the new ball, with the old ball he’s bowled nicely and got plenty of wickets. You have to question the tactical side."

McCullum, who was upgraded to coach of all three formats last year, is all but certain to be guiding the T20 team at next month’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

While they started with a bang when McCullum took over in 2022 with 12 wins in his opening 13 matches at the helm, their propensity to play reckless shots while batting and poor standards in the field have constantly hampered their chances of toppling Australia this series.

It's quite clear, at least to me, that McCullum isn't willing to adjust his style of play. I suppose the saying that a leopard never changes its spots applies to this situation. McCullum is clearly a one trick pony.

A coach of this magnitude shouldn't run a team. His style will soon be found out and then can be exploited quite easily. As I said previously, 'Bazball' is one-dimensional and has become very predictable.