Test captain welcomes ECB decision to hand reins to coach across formats
Vithushan Ehantharajah (espncricinfo.com)
Ben Stokes says the decision to enlist Brendon McCullum as England men’s new limited-overs coach is “an unbelievable move”, and believes his influence will be especially beneficial to the new generation of players who are set to come through the white-ball set-up in the coming months.
The ECB announced on Tuesday that McCullum will combine both roles from the start of 2025 as part of a new three-year deal that will extend his time in English cricket until the end of 2027. Since assuming the red-ball role in May 2022, McCullum – with the help of Stokes – has overseen a shift in culture and results.
A more liberated England have won 19 out of 28 Tests in that time. That in turn produced six series victories out of nine, with just one defeat, away to India at the start of this year.
By contrast, England’s white-ball set-up has struggled as the golden generation that lifted the 2019 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup came to the end of their life cycle. Matthew Mott, who was appointed alongside McCullum to oversee limited-overs matters, stepped down in July following disappointing showings at the 2023 50-over World Cup and the T20 edition earlier this summer.
Now, Bazball will feature across all codes. McCullum’s task initially will be to assist the talent transition across England’s 50-over and T20I squads, as he has done successfully with the Test side. The Kiwi’s dual remit may also bring more clarity on Stokes’ limited-overs future, after he opted out of the T20 World Cup but is understood to be available for the Champions Trophy at the start of 2025.
Speaking at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London, Stokes – a Red Bull athlete – can only see the upside of McCullum’s appointment, especially for limited-overs skipper Jos Buttler. Stokes teased he also might have had a hand in the appointment.
“I was very surprised by the news,” Stokes joked to ESPNcricinfo. “First and foremost, I think it’s an unbelievable move for English cricket to go back to having a coach in charge of all the teams. You look at what Baz has achieved with the Test side, it’s been amazing.
“I’m really excited for the white-ball team to have the opportunity to be able to work with Baz, listen to him speak, his opinions. How his outlook on life reflects cricket, if that makes sense.
“I think Jos is going to really, really enjoy having him as his coach to work with. And you look at all the new faces who are coming into that white-ball team now, I couldn’t think of a better person for them to come in and work under at international level for the first time.