So, Key and McCullum remain as ringleaders of the circus that the England national cricket team have become, but they promise change and professionalism.
First of all, were we surprised by this decision? Secondly, will there actually be any change? Troy Cooley is set to become the bowling coach which is fantastic news. He is a world class coach who has worked with England, Australia, and India improving the technique of some of the best bowlers. This can hopefully only be a good thing.
The return of attention to detail is an important point, lets make the England team look more professional, which will hopefully in turn lead to professional play.
The change of selection as they attempt to become more cut-throat is something that should have been implemented a long time ago. The Ashes would not have been such a mess if they had just selected the best players for the job instead of keeping the same players because they wanted a settled squad. Will there be an open door selection policy? Key still says that he wants to play “attractive” cricket. So just how exactly does Dom Sibley fit into their plans if this is the case?
Will county cricket be looked at seriously again? Because there are players out there, they just need to be found. Take Rehan Ahmed for example, a capable county player with international experience. There are seven rounds of county cricket before the first test match of the summer. I suggest that Key and McCullum attend some games and begin rebuilding relations between the national team and the system that will provide them with their future players.
The removal of Ollie Pope in the third Ashes test match was finally a step in the right direction which cleared the way for Jacob Bethall to show the test match world what could do once again.
I was personally not surprised by the decision to stick with the current management, firstly because there are not many viable options for immediate replacement who would be able to do a better job, save perhaps Alec Stewart or Andrew Flintoff. Secondly, I suspect that financial aspects played a part; the reports that it would cost £1 million to release McCullum from his contract would certainly have given weight to the proceedings.
They have been lucky enough to get a second chance, now they need to use this opportunity to show the fans and the ECB that they can improve. If results against New Zealand and Pakistan are not forthcoming this summer then surely a change must be made.
