Ahead of the high-profile Test series against India, the England National Cricket Team is heading in a new direction. As reported by The Telegraph, England’s top data experts, Nathan Leamon and Freddie Wilde, are resigning from their roles ahead of the home Test series against India.
Nathan Leamon and Freddie Wilde helped the England National Cricket Team win the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. They used numbers and computer models to guide team selections and game tactics. But things started changing when Brendon McCullum became the coach of the Test team in 2022 and later took charge of the white-ball teams as well in 2024.
According to a report by The Telegraph, Brendon McCullum believes in keeping things simple. The head coach encouraged players to trust their instincts instead of relying too much on data and stats. Under his tenure, there aren’t many team meetings, and there are fewer support staff during games.
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Now, English players are expected to take more responsibility for their own preparation and performance after the reported sacking of the data expert duo. The team management also believes that data is more useful in the franchise leagues like the IPL than in international cricket.
In the IPL, teams play very often, and players’ weaknesses become clearer, but in international cricket, players are harder to predict, so using too much data may not help as much as felt by the English team management.
Nathan Leamon and Freddie Wilde resign with immediate effect
Meanwhile, Nathan Leamon and Freddie Wilde will not be part of the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies, and there will be no replacements for them, as the team’s current Test analyst, Rupert Lewis, will handle both red-ball and white-ball formats.
This move will not only save money but also create better coordination between the Test and white-ball teams. Since winning the 2022 T20 World Cup, England’s performance in the ICC tournaments has been poor.
They’ve won just 3 out of 15 matches in the major events and had disappointing campaigns in the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
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Leamon was especially close to former captain Eoin Morgan. He even sent secret signals during matches to suggest the best bowling options. He also worked with IPL and PSL teams and is now likely to focus more on T20 leagues. Wilde will continue to work with the RCB.
England will continue to use the iHawk camera
However, England will still use some tools like iHawk cameras to track bowlers’ speed and look at player stats, but they are stepping away from the numbers-driven style. Their focus is now on player freedom, experience, instinct, and trust in the players themselves, not numbers.
Notably, England was using data to assess wider attributes while selecting the team, and Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley were picked for the India tour last year to make the most of their selected qualities. The height and high release point of Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley played a key role in their selection.
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