‘There will be changes’ – England coach warned he faces sack amid embarrassing performances

Mark Butcher believes changes will be made to England’s coaching set-up after a horror start to the Ashes.

The tourists trail the five-match series against Australia 2-0 following the second Test in Brisbane.

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England were beaten by eight wickets on Sunday after just four days of play in another crushing defeat.

It followed Australia’s win inside two days in the first Test in Perth last month.

The visitors were let down by their bowling and fielding during their opponents’ first innings as the match slipped away from them.

England’s response of just 241, meanwhile, after Australia had posted 511 left the hosts needing just 65 runs to win once they returned to the crease.

Butcher expects there to be changes to the coaching team once the series ends.

The former Test captain gave a warning to both head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key following the latest setback.

Asked if changes could be made after the series, Butcher told talkSPORT’s The Warm Up: “I would imagine that things will change, whether that be with the coach, probably not with the captain.

“Possibly with Rob Key, simply because the emphasis on every selection decision, every performance, every sort of extra bit of aggression that’s gone into the style of play over the last two-and-a-half years has been with this assignment in mind.

“Therefore if this assignment goes back and Australia are only going to have a better team the next time we play against them… three of their champion bowlers all missing from this Test match and we still go down in spectacular fashion and they’re only going to get better.

“So the fear is that it could be another 5-0 from here and that’s coming from somebody who had not (had) expectations of us winning the Ashes down there but putting up a really, really strong fight and that the idea that this team wouldn’t win a Test match down there was faintly ridiculous.

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“But after this performance against that Australian team, you’re struggling to come up with any different conclusion.

“I mean that there will be changes and there always is after an Ashes series. Every four years we go through this cycle and people often pay the price with their jobs at the end of them.”

Key and McCullum have been in their respective roles with England since 2022.

England have failed to win any of the last four Ashes series dating back to a 3-2 victory in 2015.

Meanwhile, it has been 15 years since they last clinched a series Down Under.

The series will continue next week with the third Test in Adelaide from December 16.

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It would take an historic comeback for England to wrestle the urn back from their bitter rivals.

Australia have not lost three consecutive Test matches at home for 38 years.