England players who could be shown the Test exit door [Source: AFP]It is official: Brendon McCullum has been sacked by the ECB as England’s Test head coach following a shambolic home series defeat against New Zealand. Under McCullum, the red-ball side regressed in the last 2 years, and the Three Lions also crumbled under pressure in The Ashes.With England’s next red-ball schedule taking place in August, the ECB has little time to appoint a new leader as they hunt for a suitable Brendon McCullum replacement.The Kiwi legend had his own set of ideas and philosophies, and whoever replaces him will bring in his expertise and vision. Now that England are probably moving on from the Bazball approach, several Test players could be under the firing line, and here are the England players who could be shown the exit door.1) Ben DuckettPerhaps the biggest beneficiary of McCullum becoming the England coach was the left-handed batter, Ben Duckett. He was nowhere near the Test scheme of things before McCullum’s arrival, but once the Kiwi legend was onboarded, he needed a pioneer to start the “Bazball” revolution, and Duckett was the perfect player. Duckett played an ultra-aggressive game, and often he took the match away from the opponent in the blink of an eye. While everything went smoothly for the first few years, soon Duckett was accused of throwing away his wicket in the name of aggressive batting.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2025SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2026SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table10SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table735SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table315SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table40.83SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table39.38SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike rateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table88.24SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table88.48SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table50s/100sSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3/2SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table0/1SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Ben Duckett Test stats since 2025)In 2025, Duckett played 10 matches and scored only 735 runs, with an average of 40. Surely his strike rate was good, but in Tests, the average counts more and holds more value.He has scored runs on flat English wickets, but the southpaw failed in his biggest litmus test during the 2025-26 Ashes.In five Tests, he only scored 202 runs, with an average of just 20.20. On tricky wickets, he failed to deliver the goods, and England could perhaps do with a better technically sound opener instead of Duckett, someone who values his wicket more.2) Jamie SmithAnother product of McCullum’s Bazball approach, Jamie Smith has been an aggressive middle-order batter, but he lacks game awareness when things get tough.He was touted to be England’s wicket-keeper replacement for Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes, and the player actually had a solid start to his Test career before it went downhill.Also Read: Brendon McCullum Sacked From England Coaching RoleCriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2025SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2026SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table10SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table577SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table173SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table41.21SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table28.83SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike rateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table79.92SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table62.23SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table50s/100sSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3/1SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table1/0SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Jamie Smith Test stats since 2025)The aggressive right-handed batter had a mediocre home series against the Kiwis, averaging just 28.83. Moreover, in 2025, he did score runs but was largely inconsistent.Just like Duckett, he failed in tricky Australian conditions, scoring just 211 runs, with an average of 23.44.Maybe the Three Lions need to go back to their old ways and find a keeper who could hold the fort with his brickwall technique.3) Jacob BethellHaving talent is one thing, and justifying it on the field is a completely different thing. Jacob Bethell is an excellent white-ball player and should be persisted in those formats, but in Tests, he seems to be unsure about what he wants to do.Unlike the above two names mentioned, Bethell does have a century in Australia, but he, too, has been inconsistent in red-ball cricket, and the stats reveal the reality.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableDataSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table9SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table579SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table34.05SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table50s/100sSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4/1SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Bethell stats in Tests)The left-handed batter has played a couple of marvellous Test innings, but the stats reveal that he still averages a mere 34, and this is after playing four Tests in England, where the wickets have suited the batters in recent years.Maybe England should keep him as a backup, but for that number 3 spot, the team needs to have a rock-solid batter, someone with the ability to stabilise the innings.Also Read: Stephen Fleming’s Replacement At CSK Picked, Another IPL Head Coach Sighted
