Former England captain Michael Vaughan has sharply attacked the leadership of England, seeking the position of head coach Brendon McCullum and chief executive of cricket Rob Key to step down after that Ben Stokes brought the curtain down on his international career.Stokes, 35, announced his retirement from international cricket and relinquished the England captaincy following the team’s 160-run defeat by New Zealand in the third Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday. The result sealed a 2-1 series defeat and extended England’s disappointing run in the longest format.England have now managed just two wins in their last 10 Test matches, a run that includes defeats to Australia and New Zealand, along with a series draw against India at home.Reacting to the team’s recent performances, Vaughan said he had reached a point where he could no longer accept England’s standards.“When I saw it on the fourth night last week, I said ‘no, we can’t accept that’ as ex-players in the game,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.“And it was a period that I looked at and I said ‘no, that’s enough’. English cricket has got to be better than that.”Vaughan believes the time has come for sweeping changes at the top, questioning whether McCullum is the right man to lead England forward despite his popularity.“I think Baz McCullum is a great guy but he’s not a great coach and for England, as ex-players and fans of English cricket, we should be aiming to be the number one team in the world and we’re seventh at the moment.“We’ve won two games in 10 matches and those two wins were at Lord’s on a septic tank and the MCG which was a two-dayer, so the only two games we won were on farmer’s fields.“That can’t be right.”The former captain said England fans deserve much better and insisted the team’s current trajectory was unacceptable.“I want a change. I’ve seen enough. I care passionately about English cricket and I hate watching it and you can’t tell me 20,000 or so don’t think the same,” Vaughan said.“When you have the opposition in your own backyard laughing at you, that’s enough. We have to move on.”Vaughan also questioned the future of Rob Key, who has overseen England’s cricket operations since taking over Ashley Giles as managing director in 2022. Key appointed McCullum as Test coach later that year before expanding his responsibilities to cover all three international formats in September 2024.According to Vaughan, England’s struggles were not limited to Test cricket, with the white-ball team’s performance also in decline under the current structure.“I’m so frustrated watching it, it’s ridiculous,” Vaughan said. “You have to say that Rob Key’s job is at stake. It has to be at stake. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rob Key left.“They’re not well coached. You’re telling me if Andy Flower was in charge … this team would have achieved the results they’re achieving? No way.”With Stokes’ retirement marking the end of one of England’s most influential eras, Vaughan believes the team must now seize the moment to re-establish leadership and direction after a prolonged period of disappointing results.
