The former England player has given a scathing assessment of the team’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.
Ben Stokes’ side won a chaotic two-day match in Melbourne but were outplayed in all categories of the competition by a depleted Australian side who missed captain Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon for much of the game and were without key bowler Josh Hazlewood for the entire series.
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Stokes’ captaincy is under scrutiny for the first time since he took over, as are the roles of head coach Brendan McCullum and ECB chief Rob Key, who appointed them.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called on the Buzzball “cult” to learn and adapt if the trio are to stay in place and succeed in the future.
“They have to change the culture of the team,” Vaughn said on Fox Sports. “They seem to have created a cult around the way this team is played and talked about. 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 great moments and exciting moments in recent years, but they haven’t won a big series – that’s what English cricket has been known for for over 20 years.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has been critical of England’s approach (PA Wire)
Jonathan Agnew criticized Stokes’ captaincy, telling BBC Sport: “When England won in Pakistan three years ago, they won 3-0; Stokes’ captaincy played a big part in England winning. I don’t think he performed well in this series. He was probably wearing too much and making too much noise.”
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Stokes, who called former England players “players of the past” before the series and later apologized, was defiant about his future and backed McCallum as the best man to lead the team. But he admits England are often beaten by the best teams.
“When trends continue to happen,” Stokes said, “that’s when you really need to go back to the drawing board and make some adjustments.”
Sir Alastair Cook says England’s reckless approach in the first Test set the tone for everything to come.
“Australia won all the big moments and the 4-1 scoreline didn’t make them happy,” Cook told TNT Sports. “It’s a fair reflection of the gulf between the two sides… it’s a missed opportunity for England.
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“You go back to a big moment for me that set the whole tone, which was 100-1 the next day in Perth – [England] A virtual lead of 100 runs at the fall of a wicket. Backstage, behind the scenes, all the ex-Aussies were struggling for Australia – they were poor, their bowling was poor. England had to play one bowler on the hour and that bowler was Mitchell Starc.
“They didn’t take that chance and guess what? They let Australia off the hook and from that moment on, those four wickets meant Australia gained confidence and England lost confidence and for me, that was a clinical moment.”
Sir Alastair Cook (second from right) serves as TNT sports commentator (Getty Images)
Another former captain, Michael Atherton, called on Cook to be involved in the England team’s development, supporting McCullum behind the scenes.
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“If Alastair Cook could be persuaded, he would be a perfect candidate,” reads the book the times. “After retiring from Test cricket in 2018, he has remained close to the game but distant enough to see it from beyond the boundaries.
“He was one of England’s greatest cricketers. He knew what it took to be successful, scoring 33 runs in Test matches. As a captain, he won the Ashes at home and as a player, he won the Ashes away. He led England to victory at home and away in India. He was equally good with pace and spin.
“He made himself a champion with his Stakhanovian work ethic. He probably still can outperform most players now. If McCallum’s power — and it is power — makes his players feel 10 feet taller, then Cook can help with drive and discipline.”
Kevin Pieterson posted a scathing assessment on Twitter: “I will help the ECB conduct a thorough investigation, right here, for free. Apart from the brains of Stokes, Root, Archer, Bethell and Brooke, this team is not good enough to compete with Australia or India.”
England’s Ben Stokes after the match in Sydney as Australian players watch (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Boycott has lashed out at England’s leadership team, branding McCullum, Key and Stokes “three stooges who have sold lies for three years”.
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he wrote in daily telegraph: “Joe Root said ‘it would be foolish to change the management team’. Really? After losing the Ashes so badly, would any company or sporting entity say to their management team ‘please do the same thing again’?”
“Sport is a results-oriented industry. This trio would not have lasted five minutes in either football or business. There is a good chance that the ECB litigators will hang their heads and hope that all the furor will eventually die down and it can carry on as usual.”
Stokes admits England must learn from their mistakes on this Ashes tour. “I think the teams we’re playing now have found the answer to the style of cricket we’ve been playing for a long time,” he said.
“In the first few years the team struggled to come up with ways to counter the way we played but now they are developing plans that fit the style of cricket we want.
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“When you come up against a team like Australia here – a team that knows how to play in these conditions – and you contribute to your own defeat, you end up losing the series 4-1, like we did.”