London (AFP) – Former England fast bowler Darren Gough believes England coach Brendon McCullum was "very lucky" to remain in post after England's Ashes flop as he expressed his "hurt" at being overlooked for the role of national selector.
Issued on: 20/05/2026 - 14:08
2 min Reading time
England cricket coach Brendon McCullum © Glyn KIRK / AFP
Gough, who took 467 international wickets, previously worked as Yorkshire's managing director of cricket but lost out to Marcus North in the race to become the new national selector.Gough, 55, believes a key aspect of the role is to challenge the current England management, all of whom were retained despite a 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia in 2025/26.McCullum and red-ball captain Ben Stokes have retained their positions ahead of an upcoming three-Test series at home to New Zealand."I think Baz McCullum is realistically very lucky to carry on as England's head coach," he told The Overlap's Stick to Cricket show."If you're not winning games your job is going to come under scrutiny. It's a four-year cycle, so if you go to Australia on the fourth year of it and you win, or you get really close, you can say there's been a big change and let's give it another couple of years.
