Just months after their painful defeat in the famous Ashes in Australia, the England national cricket team is in for a fresh storm. In a shocking move, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reportedly banned all the players who were part of the last Ashes tour from media interactions.
The ECB’s decision has come at a time when questions are already being raised about England’s poor performance on the Ashes tour of Australia and the future of the team’s leadership. After several controversies made headlines, the board is now trying to control the situation before the start of the new season.
Counties ask ECB to cancel interviews with England players
According to the iPaper report, the ECB informed all county teams to cancel all previously scheduled interviews with players who were part of the Ashes squad. This means many of England’s best-known stars will not speak publicly until they return to national duty.
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In the coming weeks, all 18 county teams will hold their normal pre-season media days. Earlier, around 11 players from the Ashes team, who are not playing in IPL 2026, were expected to attend these events and talk to journalists and TV channels.
But following the latest ECB decision, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jack Crawley, Ollie Pope, Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir will be ordered not to appear in front of the media before joining the England squad for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s Cricket Ground in June.
Big press conference planned by ECB chiefs
The board is also not keen on players talking to the media ahead of the big press conference later this month. ECB CEO Richard Gould and England managing director Robbie Key are expected to touch on what went wrong during the Ashes at that press conference.
This was an attempt to “control the message”. “They are our players, so they will speak when they are on England duty,” the ECB source said.
Recently, a planned interview with Shoaib Bashir was suddenly cancelled. The young spinner did not get any games during the Ashes tour and subsequently moved to Derbyshire in the hope of restarting his career.
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The board maintains strict control over communications
The order also has drawn objections because county teams typically allow their biggest stars to speak during preseason media events. These interviews help generate excitement before the domestic season begins. But this year the ECB has imposed tighter controls on communications.
The move is believed to be linked to the upcoming review of England’s Ashes disaster. They suffered a heavy 4–1 Ashes defeat against Australia and faced heavy criticism over the team’s preparation and off-field issues. Questions have also been raised about the future of head coach Brendon McCullum.
Despite the criticism, it is being said that McCullum will continue in his role for now. Senior officials including Richard Gould and Rob Key are expected to address the media later this month and explain the situation around the team and the Ashes review. Recently, England made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026 and this will help the coach’s case.
