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England head coach Brendon McCullum talks to the media after Australia won the third Ashes Test against England in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Rob Key is expected to remain as managing director of England men’s cricket despite the heavy Ashes defeat, but Brendon McCullum’s tenure as head coach may be nearing its end after the upcoming T20 World Cup, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Following England’s 4-1 loss in Australia, the England Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould and chairman Richard Thompson have been leading an internal review. While questions have been raised over preparation, discipline and off-field conduct, there is little appetite within the board to dismantle the current leadership structure, English media reported.
Key, who has held his role since April 2022, has contributed to the review process and is understood to have retained the confidence of senior ECB figures. His responsibilities extend beyond the men’s Test side, and the board views his position as a long-term appointment. Although he publicly accepted blame before Christmas for shortcomings in Ashes planning and selection, he has not spoken since and is expected to attend England’s white-ball tours in Asia.
Ben Stokes’s position as Test captain also appears secure, with the ECB favouring adjustment rather than upheaval. Insiders are keen to avoid repeating the cycle of wholesale change that has followed previous Ashes defeats.
McCullum, however, faces a less certain future. ECB figures have privately acknowledged the need for stricter standards around preparation and player behaviour. McCullum’s relaxed, low-pressure coaching philosophy has been central to England’s resurgence, but he has previously suggested that enforced cultural changes may not suit him.
McCullum has joined England on their current white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, just weeks after the Ashes ended. The tour has already seen tighter controls introduced, including a midnight curfew, following revelations about Harry Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand last year.
England have also expanded their support staff, appointing a specialist fielding coach for the tour—an implicit acknowledgement that the Ashes backroom setup had been too lean. Brook is due to face the media for the first time since details of the New Zealand incident became public.
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