"Sack the coach": Aussie that could replace McCullum at England

Could an Aussie be set to replace England coach Brendon McCullum as pressure mounts on his tenure amid an Ashes disaster?

With England now 2-nil down after eight-wicket losses in Perth and Brisbane; the pressure is on the New Zealander to turn the tide and keep the series alive.

History is not on their side, with the Australia team of 1936/37 the only one to come back from 2-nil down and win the series.

Poor results and performances have piled the pressure on McCullum which has surprised numerous experts given this England side was being hyped as their best chances of an Ashes victory in Australia since 2010/11.

“It has moved so quickly,” Adam Collins lamented on SEN.

“We’ve moved from this is the England team who had the best chance of winning in Australia for a generation since 2010/11.

“In six days of cricket, we are at the sack the coach stage.”

Amid of McCullum being sacked, debate has turned to who could replace.

“I think the next coach of the England Cricket team will be Australian,” Collins continued.

“It’s a bit like with England Football managers, they go from an England-born (coach) to a foreign-born back and forth.

“So, it applies often with coaching philosophies with cricket teams, doesn’t it, where we have had this laissez-faire approach from McCullum and co.

"They will want, I think, an Australian who is more interventionalist.”

If the ECB were to pick up an Australian coach, it wouldn’t be the first time, with Trevor Bayliss coaching them to an ODI World Cup victory in 2019 and Matthew Mott helping England claim a T20 World Cup in 2022.

There are plenty of options on offer with Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting both available, although Collins suspects a third name would be more suitable.

“I’m not sure if they will go someone as high profile as Lehmann because of the well-documented history with the Australian team, for the same reason why I doubt it will be Langer,” he explained.

“And I can’t imagine a world where Ricky Ponting would ever want (the job).

“But there is a group of coaches who would do a fine job. I think Brad Haddin would be a shrewd selection. He would be an outstanding coach, I think, of a national team at some point.

“Simon Katich would be as good as it gets, although Simon is not going to relocate to the UK anytime soon.”

Sundaresan added that Haddin may also be somewhat restricted from taking that role.

“I think Hadds is the same, I think his kids are of a similar age to (Simon Katich’s),” he added.

England will look to keep the series alive in the Third Test at the Adelaide Oval.

That begins on December 17 with SEN having LIVE coverage of every ball bowled throughout the five-match series.