England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould says recent public criticism of Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum is largely the predictable response of players who have been dropped from the national setup. Jonny Bairstow, Reece Topley and Liam Livingstone have all aired frustrations about their treatment under the management of Key and McCullum. Livingstone called his experience at last year’s Champions Trophy “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket,” Topley described Livingstone’s remarks as “a bit kind,” and Bairstow urged more player care, warning that “as soon as you are out of the system, you are out of the system.” Topley and Bairstow last represented England in 2024; Livingstone’s most recent appearance was a year ago.
Gould argued that disagreement with selection decisions is to be expected: players find it hard to accept being dropped and are unlikely to agree with the choices made. He said he would not want them to agree, because they are competitive athletes striving to play at the highest level for as long as possible. He also highlighted the scale of demand for international places: there are 28 centrally contracted men and around 16 centrally contracted women, yet perhaps 300 players who want to play for England, so the ECB must concentrate resources on those currently in the teams.
An ECB review into the 4-1 Ashes defeat retained Key, McCullum and Test captain Ben Stokes despite criticism of the team’s preparation, selection and behaviour. McCullum is in New Zealand and is due back to rejoin England ahead of their first Test of the summer against the Black Caps on June 4; Gould said he did not have an exact return date.
Gould also rejected the idea of lobbying counties to forbid Australian players from domestic cricket ahead of the 2027 Ashes, saying it would be unlawful to discriminate by nationality. ECB managing director Rob Andrew added that the number of overseas players is a recurring topic of debate across competitions such as the Blast and the County Championship. He noted the discussion is about the right number of overseas players helping the county game and growing the sport; while “Rob Key might want all the Australians banned from playing, but I don’t,” Andrew said, adding the issue was not part of the recent domestic review.