Rob Key is likely to survive, but the T20 World Cup is crucial to Brendon McCullum’s fate

Rob Key’s position as England’s managing director of men’s cricket looks increasingly secure following the early stages of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s review of the Ashes defeat, but Brendon McCullum’s future as head coach remains uncertain and will be heavily influenced by his side’s performance at the T20 World Cup next month.

Key is said to have spoken to ECB chief executive Richard Gould and chairman Richard Thompson and taken responsibility for England’s poor preparation for the Ashes and some selection failures during his tour. He is believed to have signaled a willingness to do things differently if he were to stay, a crucial concession that could ultimately save him.

Following England’s defeat in the third Test in Adelaide last month, which gave Australia a 3-0 lead and retention of the urn after just 11 days of cricket, it was reported that the ECB wanted to avoid a massacre. That remains the case despite the tourists slumping to a 4-1 defeat, with their only win coming in the fickle two-day fourth Test in Melbourne on a sports field.

The review continues, but the ECB is concerned that a repeat of the mass removals that followed England’s Ashes defeat four years ago, when Chris Silverwood as coach, Ashley Giles as director of cricket and Joe Root as captain all left, would be counterproductive and leave them ill-equipped to learn the lessons of Australia’s defeat, setting off a new cycle of failure.

Ben Stokes’ position as captain is not thought to be part of the evaluation as the 34-year-old, for example, has already said he wants to stay and lead England in the home Ashes series in 18 months’ time, when he will remain crucial to the balance of the side.

Some changes have already been made, with Carl Hopkinson appointed as fielding coach for the World Cup and the previous six white-ball warm-up matches in Sri Lanka, where the players were also imposed a midnight curfew after it emerged that Harry Brook, the captain, had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer the night before a one-day international in New Zealand.

While Key appears to have accepted the need to tighten England’s laissez-faire approach under McCullum, it is unclear whether the New Zealander will do so. When England lost the fifth Test in Sydney this month, McCullum said: “Without ultimately being able to steer the ship, maybe there is someone better. I have firm beliefs about what works. Am I because I’m being told what to do? Of course I’m not.”

Although McCullum has failed to win a series against Australia or India in four attempts, he retains some supporters at the ECB due to his performances in Test cricket, lifting a team demoralized by an exhausting style of play under Silverwood to a number of thrilling victories.

However, McCullum’s record as white-ball coach since being handed both jobs by Key 12 months ago has been poor. England emerged from last year’s 50-over Champions Trophy without winning a single match, and another disappointing global tournament in India could end his four-year reign.