Ashes to ashes but no cleanup: ECB decides not to sack Stokes and McCallum

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided on Monday not to make any changes to its leadership following a review of the tour following England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia.Gould said laying off employees “is an easy thing to do” but insisted “now is not the time to throw everything away.”General manager Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will continue in their roles. England, billed as the strongest team to tour Australia in 14 years, lost the Ashes in 11 days with two Test matches to play.“Sometimes, it’s easy to tell people to move on. That’s not the route we’re going to take,” Gould was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. “I’ve been fortunate to see the ambition and determination of the leadership team to learn from the ashes and move forward.”Gould, a former chief executive of Bristol City Football Club, said cricket, unlike football, did not follow a hiring and firing system.“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it requires a leadership team…it’s not like football where the coach has a single point of failure or success,” he said. He added that the ECB would not “select or remove management based on popularity”.The review identified issues with preparation, player behavior and selection decisions during the tour.Speaking at a press conference at Lord’s, Gould and Key said there was no “squabbling” between McCullum and Stokes. They added that McCullum was not expected to “completely change” but to “evolve”, while acknowledging that the behavior of some players was “unprofessional”. They also pointed to stricter consequences for poor performance and a focus on “better long-term planning” ahead of the main Test series.During the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, some adjustments were made as England reached the semi-finals. Gould believes performance played a big role in McCallum retaining his job.Key acknowledged that supporters may have expected stronger action.“I know people want to be punished, so people should be fired for this,” Key said. “That doesn’t mean we feel like we haven’t been through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It’s been as hard a time as I think it’s been.”