‘As an Australian, you giggle’ – Aaron Finch calls England’s recent turmoil a ‘circus’ after Ben Stokes’ retirement

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has criticised recent developments in English cricket, describing the team’s leadership shake-up as a “circus” following Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket and Brendon McCullum’s departure as Test head coach.

England endured a disappointing few months after suffering a home Test series defeat to New Zealand, which was followed by two major changes in their red-ball setup. Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket during the final Test of the series in June, while McCullum was subsequently relieved of his duties as head coach of the Test side.

Finch said the events surrounding England’s recent struggles have been difficult to ignore and claimed many Australians have been watching the situation unfold with amusement.

“You never want to see players feel like they’re being forced out or coaches be sacked. But the way that it’s all panned out, it has been a little bit like a circus,” Finch said while speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

The former Australia skipper also aimed at England’s preparation for the Ashes, questioning the decision to skip a warm-up fixture before the series and suggesting the team was overly confident heading into the tour.

“When you look back to the preparation of the Ashes, I thought, not having a warm-up game for whatever reason. Everyone’s got their opinion on why they weren’t able to have one at the WACA, which is the closest replication you can have to Perth Stadium. And almost shutting everybody out saying: ‘No, we know best. We know what we’re doing. We’re here to win,” he continued.

“And then for it to fall apart like that, to see where it goes in the New Zealand series, where New Zealand played traditional hard Test Cricket and found a way to grind out a win. They go on and win a series, which is hard to do away from home. Every team says that winning away from home is their biggest challenge”, Finch added.

Finch further suggested that England’s approach, both on and off the field, contributed to their recent struggles. He added that while Australians could relate to going through similar phases in the past, England’s current situation has become a source of amusement across the border.

“I think that when you look at it as a whole, you say there’s been a few decisions that, whether it be style of play, shot selection, decisions behind the scenes, as an Australian, you sit back and giggle a little bit because at different times we’ve been in that position as well. But you can understand it,” Finch concluded.