The first Ashes domino has finally fallen. More bloodshed is inevitable
It might have taken almost six months, but with Ben Stokes sensationally retiring mid-Test, the first domino has finally fallen after England’s Ashes humiliation on Australian soil.
Few, however, would have thought it would be Stokes – the modern-day English great, who just hours earlier in this gripping three-Test series had further etched his name in Test cricket folklore by joining Jacques Kallis, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham in the 5000 run, 250 wicket club – who bowed out first.
England captain Ben Stokes leaves the field at Trent Bridge after his final innings. Getty
Certainly not Kevin Pietersen, the maligned but brilliant ex-England Test batter, who in his ever-subtle manner suggested others should have gone first.
“Ben Stokes should NOT have been the first to go. And, in the next little while, he WON’T be the last……..,” he posted on X.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out who Pietersen was thinking of.
But if you failed to connect the dots, ex-English quick Stephen Harmison, who ruffled Australia’s batters during the famous 2005 Ashes and 18 months later missed the Gabba strip, was in fine form in the commentary box during the third Test against the Black Caps as he turned the heat on under-pressure coach Brendon McCullum.
“McCullum’s got to go with him,” Harmison said on talkSPORT radio. “If we’re going to go through that conversation, McCullum’s got to go with him.”
Along the way, Harmison took the New Zealand-born English coach’s methods to the cleaners and said more change must occur one year out from next year’s Ashes series against Australia.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Brendon McCullum as a person, but this Bazball stuff, that’s not Test cricket, that’s amateur hour,” Harmison continued.
“I’d love to know what Joe Root’s thinking as he’s walking out to bat. I’d really like to know what Joe Root’s thinking about this last two-week period.
“But with Ben Stokes going out, Brendon McCullum’s influence on this team now, I’m not convinced it’s great for English cricket, especially in the Test match arena, with an Ashes series less than 12 months away.”
Harmison’s comments come just months after McCullum, along with the English Cricket Board’s director of cricket Rob Key, survived the mess left after England’s 4-1 Ashes humiliation – a series that was over after three Tests.
Steve Harmison believes Brendon McCullum should leave his post as England coach. Getty
Former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan was one of many who were left shocked by the decision to keep McCullum and Key on board.
“I think they’re very, very lucky,” said Vaughan, who memorably skippered England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, on BBC’s Test Match Special in March.
"There's not many management groups that deliver something so poor away from home in an Ashes series and get the chance to carry on.
"They seem to me it's like a football management team. I actually felt if one went, they all went. They've had some exciting times, but they haven't won enough. What England fans are looking for now is, what change [will happen]?"
Change has occurred, just in an unlikely manner. But Vaughan’s commentary partner, former England cricket Jonathan Agnew, believed more could be on the way.
“At the start of the series, if you looked at the positions of director of cricket Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes, the one who looked the least vulnerable and most likely to remain in post was Ben Stokes,” Agnew wrote for the BBC.
“Will Key and McCullum stay on? The same doubts remain.
Rob Key (left) and Brendon McCullum survived an Ashes review. But the England cricket management might not survive if they lose to New Zealand. Getty Images
“This was supposed to have been a reset. They're supposed to have beaten New Zealand.
“There have been shenanigans off the field, discipline issues. The great reset hasn't really happened. Had things progressed more smoothly, then perhaps they might have won the series and you'd be looking more positively towards the future, but that hasn't happened.
“I don't think just because Stokes has gone that it takes the heat off anybody else.
“There are still question marks, particularly over Key's position, given it appears the details of the curfew were not made clear and that would be his job.”
Those question marks will be painted in bold should England, as expected, fail to chase down the required 270 runs to win the third Test. At 4-103, it would seem a tall order, even with Joe Root still at the crease.
But after the Ashes defeat at the turn of the year, a first series loss on home soil since 2012 (for a series of more than three Tests) to a New Zealand team that has moved on from Kane Williamson and couple of generational quicks in recent years will only put the spotlight further on England’s hierarchy.
Stokes’ decision to hang up the boots will give McCullum and Key nowhere to hide either.
