Brendon McCullum has been fired as coach of England’s test cricket team after four years in charge but will continue to lead the country’s T20 and ODI sides.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Sunday (July 12, 2026) that McCullum “will stand down,” with the New Zealander saying in the ECB statement he was “gutted not to be continuing” with the test team — suggesting it was a decision taken by those above him.

“But I respect the decision,” McCullum added. “My focus now is on giving everything I’ve got to the white-ball teams and helping England keep moving forward.”

The announcement came two weeks after England’s series loss to New Zealand — its first loss at home in a series of three tests or more since 2012.

That came on the heels of a 4-1 Ashes series loss Down Under in which the England team came under scrutiny for its perceived lack of professionalism.

Ben Stokes quit international cricket after the New Zealand series and now McCullum has gone, too, signaling the end of the so-called “Bazball” era — an entertaining but often flawed period for test cricket in England.

“Brendon breathed new life into England men’s test team during an exciting period which saw some amazing victories, and we’re grateful for all he has given to the role,” said Richard Gould, CEO of the ECB. “We now believe that the time is right to make a change for the test team as we target victory in the Ashes next summer.”

The ECB called the “Bazball” era — when McCullum’s team played aggressive, fearless cricket — one of the most “exciting and progressive periods” in England’s test-playing history.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to watch him shape the mentality of the team,” ECB director Rob Key said, “to one the players have loved, and see him develop a new generation of talent who will be at the heart of England men’s teams for years to come.

“He leaves the test team well-set and poised to achieve great things.”

McCullum said there had been “some unbelievable highs and a few tough days along the way, but that’s all part of taking on a challenge like this.”

“I wish the test team nothing but success,” he said. “There’s a hell of a lot of talent in that dressing room and they’re a special bunch of lads. I’ll always be backing the boys, with a smile on my face, and hoping they keep taking the game on. I know they’ll continue to make people proud.”

England’s next test series is against Pakistan starting next month.

McCullum has combined his white and red-ball roles since January 2025.

England’s T20 team has just thrashed India 4-0 in a home series to become the No. 1-ranked side in the world.

Ben Stokes’ hopes ‌of a winning send-off in his final international appearance were hanging by a ​thread in the third test with New Zealand on the brink of ⁠a series victory over England at the close on the fourth day at Trent Bridge on Sunday (June 28, 2026).

The hosts ended on 103-4, still needing 270 runs to secure a 2-1 victory in the series after New ‌Zealand declared their second innings on 288-9.

On the ground where Bazball was born four years ago with England chasing down 299 to beat New Zealand in ‌50 overs, the curtain will come down on the Stokes captaincy era at the ‌end ⁠of the match.

Led by Stokes, England blazed away in similar fashion in a ⁠breathless evening session but the loss of four wickets means New Zealand are in a dominant position heading into the fifth and final day.

“We’re slightly disappointed we find ourselves four down but we managed to make a big ​dent in it with the new ‌ball and make it easier for ourselves tomorrow,” said Joe Root, who is still unbeaten on nine.

“We’re still very much in the game and have taken a bit of the danger out.

“If we could finish with a series win, that would be the perfect ‌send-off for Ben.”

Stokes opens batting

Stokes announced his retirement during a lengthy afternoon spell with ​the ball and promoted himself to opener to launch a dizzying pursuit of a victory target of 373.

He hit Zak Foulkes over his head ⁠and into the stands off the 11th ball of the innings — the earliest any England player has hit a six in a test.

There was another six in the fourth over off Nathan ‌Smith before Stokes holed out to mid-wicket off Foulkes, for 30 off 20 balls, departing to a standing ovation.

Jacob Bethell went four balls later for a duck and Harry Brook, the favourite to succeed Stokes as test captain, followed for 21 from nine balls after hitting his first ball for six, giving concussion substitute Foulkes his third wicket.

The loss of Ben Duckett to Ben Sears in the penultimate over left England 103-4 after 15 wild overs.

New Zealand’s Daryl ‌Mitchell made a courageous 100 not out off 241 balls, overcoming a series of blows to the head, ​forearm and hands to complete his sixth test century. He struck ten fours and one six in a stay of almost seven hours.

Sears retired hurt ⁠with a finger injury but returned to the crease at the fall of the ninth wicket to ⁠help Mitchell reach his landmark.

He had earlier shared in a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 129 with Rachin Ravindra who made 94.

“We knew we had to tick it ‌over and absorb and the fruits would come and Daryl, especially, showed that in the end,” said Ravindra.

“They came out with serious intent, but the boys bowled brilliantly. To ​have four wickets at the close is something we would have taken for sure.”

England captain Ben Stokes will retire from international cricket after the third test against New Zealand, the team said Sunday (June 28, 2026).

The announcement came midway through Day 4 of the test at Trent Bridge.

It ends Stokes’ 15-year international career that peaked when he starred for England in its win over New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup final in 2019.

He was also a key player in England’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2022, the same year he became test captain. Stokes was dropped from the second test of the current series for disciplinary reasons after a night out after the first test.

Ben Duckett led a counterattack as England made a fast start in its reply to New Zealand’s sizeable first-innings total of 438 on Day 2 of the third and final test at Trent Bridge on Friday.

Duckett, who has been short of runs this year, was in typically pugnacious mood as he raced to 52 not out at tea after having been dropped on 8 by third-slip Henry Nicholls off Nathan Smith’s bowling. Jacob Bethell was unbeaten at the other end on 16 as England reached the interval on 73-1 from 14 overs.

Emilio Gay was the only home batsman to fall, caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell off Will O’Rourke for nought.

Earlier, captain Ben Stokes bagged his 250th test wicket to help England continue its fightback.

England was under severe pressure on Day 1 after Tom Latham (151) and Devon Conway (157) had compiled a huge 317-run partnership for New Zealand’s first wicket.

But the home team rallied with four late wickets on Thursday and Stokes made sure the revival was maintained by claiming three more victims as the Kiwis were bowled out after lunch.

On another baking hot day, with temperatures up to 34 degrees C (93 F), Stokes made the first breakthrough of the day by forcing Daryl Mitchell (11) to edge to keeper Jamie Smith.

O’Rourke (19) was next to fall when he sliced the ball to Gay at point before Stokes took his milestone wicket following a fiery bouncer to Mitchell Santner (4).

Santner called for a DRS review after being given out but TV replays confirmed the ball had flicked his glove after ballooning high to Bethell in the gully.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir took a return catch at the second attempt to dismiss Nathan Smith for 6 before Blundell (30) was lbw on review, having missed an attempted reverse sweep off the same bowler.

Jofra Archer (2-75) wrapped up New Zealand’s innings by trapping Ben Sears lbw for nought.

Stokes’ haul of 4-70 took him up to ninth place on England’s all-time list of wicket-takers. The 35-year-old all-rounder is back in the team along with Gus Atkinson after they were dropped for the second test for disciplinary reasons.

The series is level at 1-1.

Tom Latham notched his 17th Test century and Devon Conway was closing in on three figures as New Zealand’s openers made England toil in sweltering conditions, racking up 213-0 by tea on Day 1 of the deciding Test on Thursday.

It made for a nightmarish return to the England team after disciplinary issues for captain Ben Stokes, who was part of an attack that was struggling to eke out a wicket-taking chance on a flat, docile pitch at Trent Bridge.

With the series level at 1-1, Latham won what is proving a crucial toss and reached three figures off 149 balls with his 10th four of the day.

The captain, who had scored only 34 runs in four previous innings this series, was unbeaten on 109 while Conway was 94 not out and in sight of his eighth Test hundred.

It was the highest opening stand by New Zealand in a test match in England — New Zealand’s first against England since 1930 — and the seventh of 200 runs or more by Kiwi openers in test history.

Latham and Conway have pedigree, too. They put on 323 runs for the first wicket against West Indies at Mount Maunganui in December.

Stokes, back in the team along with Gus Atkinson after they were dropped for the second Test, bowled 11 overs and had figures of 0-51.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was introduced for the 11th over — only once since 1961 has an England spinner bowled so early in a home test, the BBC reported. And he could have nabbed the wicket of Conway for 71 after lunch — when the score was 157-0 — after hitting his pad before bat in front of the stumps. England failed to review for lbw, though, when replays showed it was plumb.

England’s attack was wilting in Nottingham, amid uncommon temperatures in Britain of up to 31 C (88 F).

Some of New Zealand’s optimism generated from a dominant 253-run win in last week’s second Test at The Oval might have been punctured by losing two key players — top-ranked test bowler Matt Henry and middle-order batter Glenn Phillips — because of injury. Pacer Kyle Jamieson was already down to be rested to manage his workload after recent back problems.

However, the tourists have kept up their momentum thanks to Latham and Conway.

The only real chance for England came early when Latham edged Jofra Archer through the third slip region — where Stokes had removed a fielder moments earlier.

New Zealand was slowly but surely closing in on winning The Oval test after reducing England to 182-5 on Saturday (June 20, 2026) in a doubtful fourth-innings chase of 463.

England interim captain Joe Root was 75 not out at stumps on day four with debutant Jordan Cox beside him and yet to get off the mark.

But even with Root, test cricket’s second highest run-scorer in the middle, few gave England a chance of pulling off a miracle comeback.

England came out after tea, already three wickets down for 54, to a spectator with a trumpet blowing the tune to “The Great Escape,” the 1963 Steve McQueen war epic.

And for a compelling 90 minutes England supporters could dream as Root and Harry Brook decided to go down swinging.

They brought up 50 together off 42 balls. New Zealand got the ball changed but Brook pulled Nathan Smith for six over square leg.

Brook got another Oval ovation after reaching his fastest test fifty, off 33 balls, and the crowd were back on their feet for Root’s fifty off 81 balls.

But the batters’ bravado was dampened by Matt Henry.

New Zealand’s senior seamer, who took five wickets in the first innings including Root and Brook, returned to produce a nagging line and length that got both batters out lbw. But both umpire’s decisions were overturned because Root and Brook got subtle inside edges onto their pads.

But Henry ultimately trumped the great escapes and broke the partnership of 97 when he got Brook deflecting a block to first slip on 58 off 54 balls.

Without his inspiration, Root dug in with debutant James Rew and they looked like reaching stumps together until Kyle Jamieson hit Rew in the groin nine minutes from the day’s end. New Zealand’s speculative review turned up aces with Rew lbw to a bail trimmer on 15.

England was 54-3 against New Zealand in an unlikely fourth-innings chase of 463 at tea on day four of The Oval test on Saturday (June 20, 2026).

New Zealand was bowled out for 362, England scooping up the last four wickets in 6.1 overs after lunch.

That set England 463 to win the test and clinch the series with a match to spare; a total far above the world record chase of 418 by West Indies against Australia at St. John’s in 2003 and way above England’s best chase of 378 against India in Birmingham in 2022.

The alternative was to bat out four-plus sessions for a draw.

Neither scenario looked likely as New Zealand’s pace attack made immediate inroads under cloud cover.

Kyle Jamieson removed Emilio Gay and his replacement Jacob Bethell in the fourth over.

Gay on 11 flicked straight to midwicket into the hands of Rachin Ravindra, who was mobbed by his teammates after dropping three sitters in the series, including one in the first innings. Bethell went for a four-ball duck when he missed Jamieson and was plumb on the front pad.

Ben Duckett survived an umpire’s call on a Jamieson delivery that would have clipped leg stump, but he added only four more runs when he was out to a poor shot on 9 just 15 minutes before tea. Duckett toe-ended a pull at Will O’Rourke straight to Matt Henry at mid-on.

Captain Joe Root was on 24 with vice captain Harry Brook on 9 at the break.

Root was almost gone before he scored when an edge off Jamieson fell just short of second slip. His second run brought up his 14,000th in tests, only the second man to the milestone after Sachin Tendulkar.

Jamieson had 2-10 from five overs and O’Rourke had 1-16.

England will head to the five-test Ashes series in Australia low on form and confidence after being bowled out for 222 in a two-wicket loss to New Zealand in the third one-day international Saturday (November 1, 2025) and a 3-0 series defeat.

New Zealand was desperate at the end, with two wickets remaining and 28 runs still needed to win. But Zak Foulkes with 14 not out and Blair Tickner, with an unbeaten 18, saw New Zealand home with 32 balls to spare and a total of 226-8.

New Zealand won the first match by four wickets and the second by five wickets.

England captain Harry Brook bowled out Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton, leaving Sam Curran and Adil Rashid to bowl the critical final overs.

The problem for England was its batting. For the third time in the three-match series, England was bowled out inside 50 overs as its top order faltered against quick and accurate swing bowling.

New Zealand’s run chase was impeded by two runouts at the non-striker’s end but Daryl Mitchell’s 44 took it close to victory.

Overton had scores of 46 and 42 in the first two matches of the series and has been outstanding batting at No. 8, outshining England’s specialist batters. He is unavailable for the Ashes, having chosen not to play test cricket.

On Saturday, England slumped to 44-4 at the end of the first 10-over power play before being saved by the middle and lower order.

“That’s one thing we’ve spoken about. We didn’t get big enough scores for us to be able to defend them and to give the bowlers a big enough chances to win us the games,” Brook said. “We’ll go back, we’ll take the learnings we’ve made from this trip here and we’ll try our best to be better in the future.”

Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell will all head to Australia with few runs under their belt.

Smith was out for 5 Saturday, Duckett for 8, Root for 2, Bethell for 11 and Brook, who has been England’s mainstay in the series, was dismissed for 6. Brook scored 175 runs in his three innings in the series.

The late resistance came first from Jos Buttler who made 38 and put on 53 in a partnership for the sixth wicket with Sam Curran (17) which more than doubled England’s total.

Overton and Brydon Carse then put on 58 for the eighth wicket. Carse hit four sixes in his 36 while Overton reached his half century from 50 balls with consecutive fours off Blair Tickner. He hit 10 fours and two sixes.

England bowled well in defence of an inadequate total, though Jofra Archer conceded 53 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket. His fifth over cost 24 runs.

Overton took 2-32 to add to his outstanding batting performance.