Brendon McCullum’s latest absurd claim should spell the end of his tenure

When Rob Key, the director of cricket, led his media briefings in Melbourne last month, he said, referring to a video of the players drinking on the night Brook later clashed with heavy security: “There was no action, like a formal action. I didn’t feel it was worthy of a formal warning. But it was probably worthy of the informal ones.”

And yet there was a formal event. Brook, following his actions on the very night Key referred to, was fined around £30,000 ($60,000) by the ECB, the maximum amount possible. So why didn’t Key reveal it? Why was there apparent silence over the incident for more than two months?

Here in Australia there was a reaction of disbelief, with one report turning the heat on “senior English officials who approved the cover-up”. It highlights the level of discomfort for the governing body, with the problems revealed by Brook’s story not just cultural but institutional.

The fiasco is most vividly embodied by McCullum. It’s not just that the 44-year-old New Zealander has presided over turmoil on tour, but that his reaction to the 4-1 Ashes loss is a casual nonchalance of “It’ll be right mate”. After the defeat in Sydney, he was adamant that he “doesn’t like being told what to do” and launched into the perfectly reasonable question of whether he can change his ways.

His behavior during matches, chewing gum and throwing his legs over the balcony railing, became a symbol of the delicacy of the company. Someone should have offered to sponsor the soles of his shoes because that’s about the only angle the audience ever sees him.

Except the power base he’s built is shaky. It was striking how Ben Stokes appeared to put distance between himself and the disappointed head coach by emphasizing the “damage we’ve done to ourselves” and his regret at “contributing to our own downfall”.

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The Baseball Kool-Aid is now a disgusting potion with the obvious need for change. We are no longer in the 1980s when chafing from drinking was an accepted part of touring. This is an era where the best teams throw everything they can at victory, from data analysts to watt bikes to cryotherapy chambers. That McCullum neglected even the bare basics, not appointing a fielding coach or planning proper dry runs in the conditions England would face in Australia is unforgivable.

There is no shortage of candidates who could replace him. Justin Langer seems keen for the job, praising Jacob Bethell – “dare I say it, I love him” – that he would clearly jump at the chance to coach England’s latest centurion. A more radical option would be to break the bank for Ricky Ponting if he was open to the opportunity, with his keen insight into England’s failings a highlight of the Ashes commentary.

Whoever emerges as the front-runner, it is painfully obvious that the incumbent cannot stay, with McCullum already vocal about his resistance to change. If he refuses to change, then it is the man himself who must change.