A Short Case Study in Leadership: England Men’s Cricket Team – from Dizzy Heights to Base Camp

England’s Men scaled the dizzy heights under the first half of McCullum and Stokes’ reign, but ultimately have crashed to base camp on their latest Australian tour. In this third instalment of my leadership case study, I rate their performance on four key metrics, and ponder what might come next after their latest Ashes failure.

“[We need to] soak up pressure, attack at the right time, always think positively, (and) remove indecision from your mind” – so said new England Men’s coach Brendon McCullum in mid-2022, after his appointment by Managing Director Rob Key. With talisman Ben Stokes assuming the captaincy after a fallow period of results, and implementing McCullum’s vision to a tee, England was at last aligned. Run-scoring records were being broken, and the team was flying. So much so that a passionate Australian cricket fan and leadership educator was moved to write about the mark their leadership was making on the nearly 150-year old game of test cricket.

I followed the first article with a second in early 2024, after a hefty 4-1 series loss in India. It felt like a mid-point of the McCullum-Stokes-Key era. McCullum was steadfast after that series, noting in an interview “A lot of good will come out of this”. He also spoke of the team “sticking to its belief in its process”, but also hinting at a “refined version” of what has been tagged “Bazball” by journalists. At that point, the current Ashes series in Australia was less than two years away, a series that many pundits believed would ultimately determine the legacies of McCullum, Stokes and Key.

To be fair to McCullum, he did say at the start of his reign “This approach will not always be successful”. The hallmarks of Bazball – quick run-scoring rates, heightened risks while batting, bold declarations, and holding dull draws in disdain – go against the grain test cricket had built itself on for more than a century. And to a large degree, it has worked. England’s winning rate was over 75% for the first half of this leadership’s reign. However, with the team’s inability to beat both India and Australia at home, and with heavy losses now posted away to both sides, many observers feel the “refined version” of Bazball promised by McCullum is beyond the scope of this team. Some even believe, with the winning rate now down to 59%, it is time for McCullum to go, despite him holding a contract until 2027.

“To be fair to McCullum, he did say at the start of his reign ‘This approach will not always be successful’ “

So why has Bazball worked against lesser sides, but still produced heavy losses in India and Australia? Reverting to the four leadership measures applied in the second article (Adaptability, Skills, Risk and Belief), I have rated England’s performance in the latest Ashes series. In some cases, there are some stark differences to the ratings obtained in early 2024:

ADAPTABILITY: Current rank “F”. Prior ranking “B-“. This may appear a harsh rating. However, questions have long been asked about when we might see “Bazball with brains” – a term frequently adopted by former England captain Michael Vaughan. He refers of course to the ability of the team to read the state of the game and adapt its style. In the current Ashes series, England were in a great position on Day 2 of the First Test in Perth, leading by 99 runs on a challenging pitch with 9 wickets in hand. Most pundits expected England to knuckle down and bat for 100 overs to kill off Australian hopes. Instead we saw wild strokes claim four key batting scalps, and suddenly the door was ajar. Australia walked through it, and won the test later that day thanks to the miraculous batting of Travis Head. It was a stunning outcome, one Stokes had clearly not anticipated judging by his demeanour post-game. The worm was turning – Australia had adapted its approach and implemented its own version of Bazball to go 1-0 up. The England narrative after the game was “Let’s stick to the processes we know work for us”.

A criticism of prior England regimes was that too many players felt uncertain about their place in the team, due to the trigger-happy nature of selectors. One false shot and careers could be over. McCullum and Stokes set about correcting that, forming a squad of players that had succeeded in white-ball cricket, believing they could bring those skills to test cricket. This served them well for several series. However, as time has progressed, the “pick and stick” approach has made observers question what it would take for a batsman, in particular, to lose his spot in the team. The perceived lack of pressure from within the squad has led to the creation of some bad habits, with players then forced to adapt their styles on the run. Not easy in Australia, against the best Australian bowlers in a generation.

SKILLS: Current rank “D-“. Prior ranking “B+”. Again, a big rating drop produced in the Ashes series. But in all facets of the game – batting, bowling, and fielding – England has not produced.

In an article for The Times, cricket writer Steve James referred to batsmen Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith saying “So often those three do not move [their feet] after their initial trigger movement, and that is the salient reason why none of them has a solid defence. Indeed, in this England side, only Joe Root and Stokes can lay claim to possessing a defence on which they can rely”.

This is supported by figures provided by former England opener Nick Compton, who has calculated the number of balls faced per test innings by the England side over their careers. Joe Root is a standout at 89 balls per innings, but after him it falls rapidly to Brook (63), Stokes (60), Ollie Pope (54), Duckett (48), and Zak Crawley (47). This compares to their Australian rivals Steve Smith (104), Usman Khawaja (89), Marnus Labuschagne (88), Cameron Green (69) and Head (61). He went on to write “Bazball promised liberation. What it delivered was a wholesale abandonment of Test discipline, disguised as swagger. And when pressure bites, England’s method melts. They look underprepared, under-skilled, and emotionally brittle”. Ouch!

“Indeed, in this England side, only Joe Root and Stokes can lay claim to possessing a defence on which they can rely” – Steve James, The Times

Consider the bowling effort on the second day of the Second Test in Brisbane. A pivotal day in the field for England, after making a respectable 334 with the bat. During that day, tracking data showed England’s bowlers would have hit the stumps with only 5% of deliveries. That’s 95% where the Australian batsmen could either leave, drive or swing knowing at least two dismissal options had gone. And that has flow-on consequences in test cricket. Over the same day England dropped five catches – effectively half an innings dismissals put down. These two skill deficiencies led to England having to spend a further two full sessions in the field on a hot third day, where the test was effectively lost.

Many England fans have lamented to me “It’s the hope that kills you”. In isolation, these players are talented, but their skills are letting them down at key moments.

RISK: Current rating “E”. Prior rating “C”. The risks associated with Bazball have historically focused more on on-field performance. But the rating assigned here refers to the off-field preparation for the Ashes series. The England leadership group took a massive risk going into this series, backing player form in other conditions over those they would face in Australia. Referring mainly to preparation, McCullum admitted after the Adelaide test loss “I haven’t got everything right as a coach and I put my hand up for that”.

The day before the Third Test in Adelaide, England had been in Australia about 35 days, yet had only played competitive cricket on 6 of those. Their only warm-up game prior to the First Test in Perth was a soft 2-day practice match at Lilac Hill against the young England Lions. For Brisbane, a day/night test played with a pink ball, several England players had no prior experience playing with that type of ball. An opportunity to change plans and give players at least a taste of the pink ball in another 2-day game in Canberra was stoutly refused. In Brisbane, too many players were effectively learning on the job – with the Ashes at stake.

Which brings me to the bowling lineup. The last time England won the Ashes in Australia – 15 years ago – it took a complete team performance from James Anderson (26 runs conceded per wicket), Graeme Swann (25), Chris Tremlett (23) and Tim Bresnan (19.5) to retain the Ashes. In the current series, while there has been some sound individual performances, the bowlers have not performed as a unit on a consistent basis. Brydon Carse has 14 wickets, has run in hard, but can leak runs. Spearhead Jofra Archer really only fired up to full speed when the Second Test was effectively lost. The other key bowler, Mark Wood, went wicketless in the First Test and was then sent home with injury. All of the remaining bowlers are on their first Ashes tour. While these bowlers have produced good results in England, they are learning on the job in the toughest conditions around. The selection committee has taken a significant risk expecting a rookie bowling attack to do something only two England teams have done in 40 years.

Stokes after his dismissal in the Second Test at Brisbane Source: The Independent

BELIEF: Current rank “C“. Prior ranking “A”. There is no shortage of belief in the England camp, if you base that around their external messaging. But Compton has a different view: “They default to aggression not because they’re bold, but because they know – deep down – they cannot absorb pressure. The Ashes have exposed the truth: this isn’t a fearless team. It’s a fragile one”.

Compton’s comments are supported by Stokes’ post-match reaction to the Brisbane loss. For the first time in the Bazball era, Stokes deviated from his usual method of wrapping an arm around his team. He spoke about the England dressing room being “no place for weak men” and was clear that some “tough conversations” would be occurring with certain players. He did not appear aligned with McCullum in how they would respond to another poor result.

To disagree on their post-match approach is not in itself a bad thing. History has shown many great partnerships thrive because of the way they manage conflict. But with Stokes demonstrating with the bat in both Brisbane and Adelaide how test cricket should be played, and the patchy support he received in all aspects of the game, he must now start to question the changes he needs to make to restore the team to the vision he, McCullum and Key set out in 2022. The belief seems to have waned.

“History has shown many great partnerships thrive because of the way they manage conflict”

So where to from here? It would be easy to consign Bazball to the dustbin, sack McCullum, Key and various other support staff, and start again. But I don’t think England should do that. It would be easier to review the game plan than start all over. There is world-class talent in the squad, but maybe that isn’t enough to execute such as audacious game plan. The bowlers need to be super-fit to back up the relatively short time it takes to complete an England batting innings under Bazball. And with its batting, England could look to Australia’s selections. It has mixed quick scoring (Head and Alex Carey) with more traditional test styles as Smith, Labuschagne and Khawaja, and in doing so, has outpaced the England scoring rate.

And what of the leadership that took England on this journey so far? Rob Key has not been heard from throughout the tour. He has traditionally not sought the limelight, but will need to say something soon. Maybe he will wait until the tour ends. McCullum has not been one to change tack, and unless he is willing to in a material way, could be under real pressure to keep his job. Finally, Stokes remains unchallenged as the best captaincy option by some way. Brook has not stepped up at all on this tour, and previous step-in captain Pope is under real pressure to hold his place in the team.

The selections we see for Melbourne and Sydney might tell us something about the future. But right now, after losing convincingly to an Australian side not at full strength in any test match, the dizzy heights of 2022/23 have been replaced by a shattered team assembled at Base Camp, filling the oxygen tanks and wondering who will be willing to tackle the next leg of the journey.

Lewis Williams is the Founder of Cadence Leadership Advisory, which offers leadership coaching, team leadership development services and strategy and organisational culture support. A former commercial banker with significant experience as a leader of people, he is a certified organisational coach, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and regularly facilitates development programs as Adjunct Faculty with the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM).