​There was a moment when it all collapsed—a veritable implosion from which England never recovered. Yes, there were the familiar footnotes: the Ashes planning (or the absence of it), Harry Brook’s run-in with a nightclub bouncer, and the Noosa interlude. A while back, there was the tap on James Anderson’s shoulder, and not long ago, Ben Stokes’ ill-fated night out. In the grand scheme of things, these episodes pale beside the chaotic Saturday afternoon in Perth. Right there, in the palm of England’s hand, a single calm session could have plausibly sealed victory in the first Test against Australia. And who knows what might have followed?
Under Brendon McCullum, England did not pursue “calm sessions”—they ran toward danger. Nine for 99 looms as perhaps the most consequential batting collapse in English cricket history, its tremors still reverberating seven months on. All of this has led to another dramatic Sunday. English cricket used to reserve its finest moments for Sundays—Anya Shrubsole in 2017, Ben Stokes in 2019 twice. Now, two Sundays, two weeks apart, have seen Stokes walk away and McCullum pushed out.
The team sits back where it did four years ago: captainless and coachless. “Time for us all to buckle up and get ready for the ride,” Rob Key declared when McCullum took the helm. It was a promising ride at first. England’s legacy promised glory: bucket hats, night skies, and golf clubs alongside remarkable triumphs. They produced results that felt almost cinematic—New Zealand at Trent Bridge, India at Edgbaston, Pakistan in Rawalpindi. For a while, England transcended the sport; they became a feeling, a movement, a phenomenon. The glow dimmed as McCullum’s second and third years arrived, never quite recapturing that heady first year.
As to why the journey spiraled, McCullum offered a clue on his very first day in the job. “I don’t coach technically,” he said at Lord’s in May 2022. “I understand the techniques, but for me it’s more about man-management and creating the right environment for the team to go out and be the best versions of themselves.” He inherited an experienced core—players who had endured the trauma of one win in 17 and the rigours of Covid lockdowns: Stokes, Anderson, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood. The New Zealander freed them, giving them a liberty they already knew how to wield.
When the moment came to cultivate a new England side—an inevitability given age and arc—McCullum’s approach didn’t align with fostering a fresh generation. Names such as Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, and Ollie Pope began their Test careers under McCullum in promising fashion. Yet when more was demanded, for the purposes of broader visibility and enduring impact, the adaptation faltered. The narrative of England’s evolution under McCullum reads as a story of brilliance, rapid ascent, and a challenging shift in how a team matures. The prologue was luminous; the sequel unsettled; the finale unfinished.