Key ‘annoyed’ by perception of England under McCullum

Rob Key says he gets annoyed by the perception of Brendon McCullum’s England teams as being carefree, but admits it is “our own fault”.

McCullum was appointed as head coach of the Test side in 2022 and transformed the team’s fortunes alongside captain Ben Stokes, instilling a positive and fearless brand of cricket.

The former New Zealand batter took over the white-ball sides at the beginning of this year, but they have struggled – being beaten heavily in India and then losing all three matches at the recent Champions Trophy.

During the India tour, England were accused of not training hard enough and the defeats have seen their image and attitudes scrutinised by the press and public.

“I saw a piece in a newspaper about the ‘ most eye-catching Bazball quotes’, and they make me shudder”, Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Yes, it annoys me]the perception] but it’s our own fault. Some of those internal messages are repeated by players in interviews, but without context as to why Brendon is saying them – things like ‘ we don’t care about winning ‘ – that is nonsense.

” Sometimes you have got to be above the players and you have got to drag them up, and sometimes when things are going well you’ve got to be below them and bring them down – and that does happen, too. “

Comments which caused a stir include Ben Duckett saying it did not matter that England lost 3-0 to India as long as they went on to win the Champions Trophy, while in September last year Harry Brook said” if you get caught somewhere on the boundary, then who cares? “when asked about his side’s batting approach.

But Key added that McCullum is a” master “at knowing the differences between his players, such as who needs a harder approach and who thrives by being more relaxed.

” After the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, an absolute rollercoaster, Brendon said something along the lines of how those close games feel like ones you’ve won, “Key added.

Key also denied suggestions he and the England management had put too much focus on Test cricket which resulted in poor results from the white-ball side.

He said that during Joe Root’s tenure as Test captain, he was often playing without his full-strength XI but this winter the selection decisions were inevitable.

” The white-ball team]when I started] were the best or one of the best in the world, and they had done a lot of work with an era of cricketers who were very established and experienced and knew exactly what they were doing, “said Key.

” The problem that we found this winter is that we had a decision to make – and it wasn’t a matter of choosing between white and red ball – it was more the fact that it is almost impossible to have your best team play in both formats now. “

England played three Tests in Pakistan in October, a white-ball series in the Caribbean started a day after that series ended and then three further Tests in New Zealand followed.

Key said he would have made the same selections again because of the complexity of the schedule.

” It meant that the white-ball team suffered, but there was almost no choice, “he said.

” It was either one or the other. Every step along the way we’ve had to make a call of ‘ you can only have your best team at one of these series’. “

Key’s next significant decision will be to appoint Jos Buttler’s successor as white-ball captain after he stood down at the end of the Champions Trophy. The process will take time and Key said he has not had any conversations with current Test skipper Stokes about the vacancy.