New Delhi: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reportedly sacked Freddie Wilde and Nathan Leamon, its two data analysts, ahead of the crucial home Test series against India, as senior men’s head coach Brendon McCullum wants to put more emphasis on gut feeling and intuitions. England will begin their new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a five-match affair against the now refurbished Indian side, starting from June 20 in Leeds.
The huge development came to light after a report in The Daily Telegraph read, “Two of England’s senior cricket analysts, Nathan Leamon and Freddie Wilde, are leaving the set-up in a move that suggests the national side will place less emphasis on data moving forward. Leamon and Wilde – England’s senior data analyst and white-ball analyst, respectively – are both winding down their involvement with the national team.”
The report ruled out their involvement with the team for the white-ball series against West Indies at the end of the month. The series notably marks the start of Harry Brook’s reign as the skipper of both the limited-overs formats.
Reasons for analysts’ dismissal?
It further claimed that McCullum hasn’t been a firm believer in the data and statistical approach, as he feels it is more suited to the T20 format, if compared with the longest version. “The England hierarchy believes that analysis is more important in franchise cricket than the international game, where players tend to have fewer easily exploitable weaknesses,” the report added.
Moreover, the Kiwi national is also of the opinion that the fewer the support staff is, the less complicated the atmosphere is. “As part of this approach, England players are encouraged to take more responsibility for their preparation and performance, and there has been a reduction in the number of support staff on match days to de-clutter the dressing room,” the report stated further.
The approach is indeed totally opposite to India’s, where the era of Rahul Dravid saw more focus on data analytics, leading to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. The report, however, added that the English players are always free to consult the analysts themselves, but the management would still want the players to rely on their instincts more.
Those who have worked across the IPL and the England national team believe that franchise cricket teams are using the data more effectively and prominently than England.
The ECB has reportedly done away with two of their data analysts ahead of the start of the India Test series with the management wanting the players to depend more on their gut rather than stats. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
