Key 'annoyed' by perception of England under McCullum

Rob Key says he gets annoyed by the perception of Brendon McCullum's England teams as being carefree, but its it is "our own fault".

McCullum was appointed as head coach of the Test side in 2022 and transformed the team's fortunes alongside captain Ben Stokes, instilling a positive and fearless brand of cricket.

The former New Zealand batter took over the white-ball sides at the beginning of this year, but they have struggled - being beaten heavily in India and then losing all three matches at the recent Champions Trophy.

During the India tour, England were accused of not training hard enough and the defeats have seen their image and attitudes scrutinised by the press and public.

"I saw a piece in a newspaper about the 'most eye-catching Bazball quotes', and they make me shudder," Key, the managing director of England men's cricket, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Yes, it annoys me [the perception] but it's our own fault. Some of those internal messages are repeated by players in interviews, but without context as to why Brendon is saying them - things like 'we don't care about winning' - that is nonsense.

"Sometimes you have got to be above the players and you have got to drag them up, and sometimes when things are going well you've got to be below them and bring them down - and that does happen, too."

Comments which caused a stir include Ben Duckett saying it did not matter that England lost 3-0 to India as long as they went on to win the Champions Trophy, while in September last year Harry Brook said "if you get caught somewhere on the boundary, then who cares">