Brendon McCullum has been sacked as England Test coach, bringing an end to the much-talked-about Bazball era. However, McCullum will continue to serve as England's white-ball coach. McCullum's exit comes a fortnight after Ben Stokes shocked the cricketing world by announcing that he would step down as the Test captain and retire from international cricket.

"I've absolutely loved coaching the Test side and I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together. There've been some unbelievable highs and a few tough days along the way, but that's all part of taking on a challenge like this," McCullum said in a statement.

"Of course I'm gutted not to be continuing, but I respect the decision. My focus now is on giving everything I've got to the white-ball teams and helping England keep moving forward," the former New Zealand captain added.

McCullum was named England's Test captain back in 2022, and he, along with Ben Stokes, had transformed England's approach to Test cricket, introducing an aggressive, fearless brand of cricket. Meanwhile, over the past year or so, England's performance has declined sharply, with the side registering two victories from their last nine Test matches. 

The beginning of downfall took place with a heavy 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia. That time England cricket chose to continue backing McCullum, Stokes, and managing director Rob Key, hoping the trio could guide the team back to success. However, England's fortunes failed to improve. A subsequent 2-1 home series defeat against New Zealand recently put the spotlight back on the leadership. Notably, England’s next Test series is against Pakistan starting next month.