England’s former players are stunned after their 1-4 defeat in the Ashes series. Everyone is analyzing the defeat in their own way and venting their anger on the team. In such a situation, there is also a demand to remove coach Brendon McCullum. In this episode, 85-year-old former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has called Brendon McCullum a gambler. They say that the three wise men of England turned out to be three idiots. Brendon McCullum, Rob Key and Ben Stokes have sold them lies for three years. Geoffrey Boycott, in his column for the Telegraph, wrote, “England’s three wise men turned out to be three idiots. Brendon McCullum, Rob Key and Ben Stokes have sold them lies for three years. McCullum’s philosophy is to play your own way. Play without a care in the world. No one scolds him, There is no accountability, and no one is dropped from the team, so they keep doing the same stupid things.” He further said, “If the coach and the captain have no problem, then why will the players change, adjust or improve? People are now getting fed up of this way of playing and if they continue to support McCullum and allow the players to repeat the same mistakes, then their jobs may be in danger.”
Boycott described McCullum as a ‘gambler’ and drew parallels between his approach to the game and gambling.
He wrote, “I like McCullum. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t and he has been a breath of fresh air for England cricket, which has been exciting and refreshing. But he is a gambler who thinks he will always win his money back. That’s how the casinos always win in the end. How many hopefuls start well but end in tears? That’s because they don’t know when to stop or change their routine. This kind of freedom to do whatever one wants without any consequences is holding England back but that skill is not being utilized properly. To reach the next level, we need a different discipline and structure in the way the players think and act. If these three sensible people remain, the ECB will have to make sure that there are some changes like Ian Botham and David Gower. “Getting some of the great players to sit down with me and McCullum, and even the captain, to get some new and different ideas straight away, these former players have been Ashes series winners, so they know what they are talking about. How many times can I say that we former players want England to win.”
