Brendon McCullum: Sacking the England coach was easy to do – European Central Bank President

Sacking coach Brendon McCullum after England’s Ashes debacle would have been the “easy thing to do”, according to England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould.

McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and Test captain Ben Stokes will remain in their positions despite the 4-1 Test defeat in Australia, a tour marred by poor planning, sub-standard performances and off-field issues.

Gould was speaking alongside KV Lords on Monday, where he discussed the results of the tour review.

“I saw the driving ambition and determination that we are fortunate enough to have within our leadership group to draw lessons from the ashes and move forward,” Gould said.

“These are individuals who have other things to do in their lives. They are all committed to doing better for England and learning clear lessons.”

Gould is the son of former Wales and Wimbledon football manager Bobby, and also previously served as chief executive of Bristol City Football Club.

“My old dad was a football manager,” he said. He added, “Firing was part of the job and was not necessarily the right thing. Transferring people can sometimes be the easy thing to do. This is not the path we are going to take.”

More to follow.