From the ride to the rubble - how McCullum lost England Test job

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Brendon McCullum will stay on as England's white-ball coach despite his sacking as red-ball coach By Stephan Shemilt Cricket Correspondent Published 11 minutes ago There was one moment when it fell apart - an implosion from which England never recovered. Yes, there was the Ashes planning (or lack of it), Harry Brook's tangle with a nightclub bouncer and Noosa . A while back there was the tap on James Anderson's shoulder, and just recently there was Ben Stokes' ill-fated night out . In terms of where it all went wrong, they pale in significance next to the shambolic Saturday afternoon in Perth. And it was right there, in the palm of England's hand. One calm session would, in all likelihood, have been enough to win the first Test against Australia. Who knows what might have happened after that? England did not do calm sessions under Brendon McCullum - run towards the danger and all that. Nine wickets for 99 runs might be the most consequential batting collapse in English cricketing history, with aftershocks still being felt seven months later. All leading to this: another stunning Sunday. English cricket used to save its best for Sundays - Anya Shrubsole in 2017 , Stokes twice in 2019 . Now, on two Sundays two weeks apart, Stokes has walked and McCullum has been pushed . It leaves the England Test team back where they were four years ago: without a captain and without a coach. "Time for us all to buckle up and get ready for the ride," said director of cricket Rob Key when McCullum was appointed. At the beginning, what a ride it was. England want new coach before Pakistan - who could it be? Published 1 hour ago TMS podcast: McCullum sacked as Test coach Bucket hats, nighthawks and all the golf. Some of England's most incredible wins, achieved in breathtaking style. New Zealand at Trent Bridge, India at Edgbaston, Pakistan in Rawalpindi. For a while, England were more than a cricket team. They were a feeling, a movement and a phenomenon. They flickered occasionally over McCullum's next three years in charge, but nothing like that heady first year. As to why the ride careered off the rails, McCullum gave us a clue on his very first day in the job. "I don't coach technically," said McCullum at Lord's in May 2022. "I understand the techniques, but for me it's more around man-management and trying to provide the right environment for the team to go out and be the best versions of themselves." McCullum inherited an experienced group, players who had been flattened by a run of one win in 17 and stifled by Covid restrictions: Stokes, Anderson, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. The New Zealander liberated them, providing a freedom they knew how to use. When the time came to build a new England team – given the age profile, this was always likely on McCullum's watch – his style was not suited to moulding a new generation. Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir – even Zak Crawl