London (AFP) – Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged head coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key to resign following Ben Stokes's retirement from international cricket.
Issued on: 01/07/2026 - 16:28
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England head coach Brendon McCullum (L) and managing director Rob Key (R) © DAVID GRAY / AFP
All-rounder Stokes, 35, announced the end of his reign as England captain and the finish of his celebrated international career on Sunday during a crushing 160-run defeat by New Zealand in the third Test at Trent Bridge, a loss that condemned his team to a 2-1 series loss.This latest reverse meant England have now won just two of their last 10 Test matches following defeats by Australia and New Zealand and a home draw with India.Vaughan feels "enough is enough", with England's 2005 Ashes-winning skipper telling the Stick to Cricket podcast: "When I saw that on the fourth evening last week, I went 'nah, we can't accept that' as ex-players in the game."And it was that period that I watched and I went 'nah, enough is enough'. English cricket has got to be better than that."Key and McCullum, a former New Zealand captain, were under pressure following England's woeful 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia concluded in January, with Vaughan adding: "I think Baz McCullum is a great guy but he's not a great coach and for England –- as ex-players and fans of English cricket -– we should be aiming to be the number-one team in the world and at the minute we are ranked seventh.
