England head coach Brendon McCullum with captain Ben Stokes. (File photo/PTI) The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided on Monday not to make any changes to its management group following England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, following a review of the tour.Firing people “would be easy,” Gould said, but he insisted, “Now is not the time to fire everything.”Chief executive Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will continue in their roles. England, described as their strongest side to tour Australia in 14 years, lost the Ashes in 11 days with two Tests still to play.“It can sometimes be easy to move people on. That’s not the path we’re going to take,” Gould said, according to the Associated Press. “I saw the driving ambition and determination we are lucky to have in our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.Gould, who was previously chief executive of Bristol City Football Club, said cricket operates differently to football and does not follow a hire-and-fire approach.“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it requires team management… it’s not like football where the only point of failure or success is with the manager,” he said. He added that the ECB “will not select or cancel procedures based on a popularization campaign.”The review revealed issues regarding preparation, player behavior and selection decisions during the tour.In a press conference at Lord’s, Gould and Key said there was no “fallout” between McCullum and Stokes. They added that McCullum was not expected to “completely change” but to “evolve”, while acknowledging that some of the players’ behavior was “unprofessional”. They also pointed to stricter consequences for underperformance and a focus on “better long-term planning” ahead of major Test series.Some adjustments were already made during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where England reached the semi-finals. Gould suggested the performance played a role in McCullum retaining his position.Key admitted that supporters could have expected a stronger action.“I know people want punishment and that they should be fired for that,” Key said. “That’s not to say we don’t feel like we’ve been through some serious pain: Brendon, me, Ben. It’s been as hard as I think I’ve been.”
