McCullum’s ‘Bazball’ collapsed in a screaming heap. Here’s how it unravelled

Updated July 13, 2026 — 9:59am,first published July 12, 2026 — 9:35pm

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In the manner of the his exit from the role of England’s Test coach, brand McCullum trumped brand ECB.

Brendon McCullum’s sacking as mentor of the Test team, meaning neither he nor Ben Stokes will be part of the Ashes tour next year, was meant to be kept quiet in the UK until towards the end of the inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s.

But upon reaching the conclusion that he was going to be fired as Test coach but stay on with the white ball team, amid discussions with the ECB that had stretched through a Twenty20 international series against India, McCullum had eyes on the next port of call for his brand.

Logically, that included commentary, and where else would he commentate but in Australia this summer, as New Zealand take on Pat Cummins’ team over four Tests? You can expect Baz to be holding a microphone come the Perth Test in December, not long after a white ball series between Australia and England.

The inside story of the booze-fuelled Ashes tour that divided Stokes and McCullum

Those inquiries go some way towards explaining how the story was broken not out of England, but here by the industrious reporter Tom Morris, across SEN Radio and Seven.

A couple of hours later, the ECB confirmed the news, with the England women’s team sliding towards defeat against India. The announcement did not go........

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