Brendon McCullum has apologised for England’s poor Test results after his dismissal, admitting the team failed to deliver victories in the series that mattered most.
England ended McCullum’s four-year spell as Test coach after a 2-1 home series defeat to New Zealand. The 44-year-old will remain head coach of England’s white-ball teams until 2027.
“It’s a results business and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the results we wanted and for that I’m sorry,” McCullum told BBC Sport.
McCullum arrived in 2022 shortly after Ben Stokes became Test captain. Together they introduced an attacking style known as “Bazball”, but England lost 20 of 49 Tests under his leadership.
The team also failed to win a five-Test series against Australia or India, two contests McCullum described as the biggest measures of success.
“India and Australia are the marquee series and if you don’t win those you haven’t quite been able to achieve what you wanted to,” he said.
“We achieved some good stuff over the four years but, fundamentally, the results didn’t live up to it at the back end.”
Pressure increased after England lost the Ashes 4-1 in Australia and struggled during the closing stages of McCullum’s tenure. The defeat to New Zealand, coupled with Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket, accelerated changes within the Test setup.
McCullum accepted responsibility for the team’s decline.
“Australia, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted there,” he said.
“We obviously got beat by a good New Zealand side and that heaps more pressure on the results. At some stage, someone has to be responsible for that. I’ll put my hand up and will wear that.”
