Brendon McCullum: England head coach keen to ‘steer the ship’ despite Ashes failure in Australia - 'I’m open to progress'
By Becky Hart
Published 09/01/2026 at 16:37 GMT
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England head coach Brendon McCullum has spoken in the wake of the 4-1 NRMA Insurance men’s Ashes defeat in Australia. With the pressure on following a difficult tour down under, the Kiwi has given his views on who is best for the job moving forward, as well as addressing what happened in Noosa. England next play in Sri Lanka, with McCullum set to remain in charge of the white ball tour.
Why did England lose the Ashes?
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Brendon McCullum believes he remains the right man to "steer the ship" following England's 4-1 defeat in the NRMA Insurance men’s Ashes.
The former Kiwi keeper's future as head coach has been called into question after a difficult tour where standards slipped both on and off the field.
As well as another comprehensive Ashes defeat down under, with England only winning a dead rubber in Melbourne, negative headlines were created following some off-pitch incidents in Noosa, where the players took a break between the second and third Tests.
To further fan the flames, there was then news of Harry Brook’s altercation with a bouncer in New Zealand breaking just after the conclusion of the final Test in Sydney.
McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and Rob Key, who is managing director of men’s cricket, are all under pressure with an internal review already underway.
However, McCullum feels he can lead England forward but remains insistent that he wants to do things his own way.
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‘I’m keen to carry on’ - McCullum reflects on Ashes loss
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"I think whatever you do in life, you have to have some authenticity and for me as coach, when you’re trying to guide, shepherd and assist players, you need to have influence over how the environment runs," McCullum said, as reported by the Telegraph.
"And [you need] to be in charge of a lot of those decisions that are made when the pressure’s on.
"So as long as that remains, I’m open to progress, I’m open to evolution and some nipping and tucking. But without being ultimately able to steer the ship, maybe there is someone better.
"It depends what changes, right? I have a firm conviction in a lot of my methods. I’m not against evolution and not against progress. However, you need to stand for something."
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McCullum is set to lead the white ball squad next for a series in Sri Lanka, which begins on January 22 and will be shown live on TNT Sports, before the T20 World Cup begins.
That squad is set to be captained by Brook, who was handed a final warning for his conduct after a night out in New Zealand prior to the start of the Ashes.
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‘We’ve done a lot of damage to ourselves’ - Stokes looks back on Ashes loss
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Brook’s antics, combined with those of Ben Duckett and others in Noosa on a break midway through the Ashes, led to McCullum defending the alleged drinking culture surrounding his players.
"There are times where you surely need to have some breaks and I would say most cricket teams around the world would be pretty similar in their belief of that, Australia is not different from us, and I felt Noosa was quite important," said McCullum.
"They enjoyed themselves off the field and I don’t think they did things to excess, and they were still putting in the work off the field in terms of training, albeit not in front of everyone.
"It’s a tough game, when you come in at [age] 20 and leave at 36-38 whatever it is, they are your formative years when you grow up, and become more mature people, and when you’re in the spotlight I think the guys actually handled themselves pretty well across the board.
"Half our guys don’t have a drink to be honest. They’ll have a couple of beers every now and again. I think people do that in most walks of life.
"These guys are young men playing a highly pressurised sport, they’ve got a talent which is cricket and there’s an opportunity for us to guide and nurture as they become fully grown men who are dealing with some high pressure."
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As to whether there will be any personnel changes in the England set up, "a thorough review of the campaign is already underway," according to ECB Chief Executive Officer, Richard Gould.
But Gould indicated that any changes would be made in the coming months leaving McCullum in charge as England switch focus to the shorter forms of the game.
Watch and stream every ball of England's 2026 tour of Sri Lanka live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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