Gough believes McCullum 'very lucky' to keep England role after Ashes disaster

[p]Gough, who took 467 international wickets, previously worked as Yorkshire's managing director of cricket but lost out to Marcus North in the race to become the new national selector.[/p][p]Gough, 55, believes a key aspect of the role is to challenge the current [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/UJC5mtAU/"]England[/a] management, all of whom were retained despite a 4-1 Ashes series loss in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OxG0JfXg/"]Australia[/a] in 2025/26.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mccullum-brendon/0KJ3u1y4/"]McCullum[/a] and red-ball captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stokes-ben/bqDhqGMG/"]Ben Stokes[/a] have retained their positions ahead of an upcoming three-Test series at home to New Zealand.[/p][p][b]"I think Baz McCullum is realistically very lucky to carry on as England's head coach,"[/b] he told The Overlap's [i][b]Stick to Cricket[/b][/i] show.[/p][p][b]"If you're not winning games your job is going to come under scrutiny. It's a four-year cycle, so if you go to Australia on the fourth year of it and you win, or you get really close, you can say there's been a big change and let's give it another couple of years.[/b][/p][p][b]"It didn't happen but I wish them the best of luck. I like the way they play, but it needs toning down a bit. We need a bit of steel and I'd like to think we'll see that this summer."[/b][/p][embed guid="25dc3455-796c-4cc1-b9b7-a340863334b3" url="https://x.com/StickToCricket/status/2057053916219551747" social-type="twitter" /][p]Gough, asked if New Zealander McCullum would face increased scrutiny this season, added: [b]"Absolutely. They're under pressure, and they should be, I don't think there's any doubt about that."[/b][/p][p]As for his failure to become England's new national selector, with the England and Wales Cricket Board preferring former Australia batter North, a frustrated Gough said:[b] "I was disheartened. I'll be honest, it did hurt me.[/b][/p][p][b]"I could have challenged them in the right areas. I'm mature now, I'm not like I was 10 years ago, a hothead. I've mellowed a lot, and I've managed people.[/b][/p][p][b]"My honest opinion was, if they went down the route of someone who'd played for England, who has done all the roles in the game, I might just get this."[/b][/p]