England’s drive to run a more professional team environment after the Ashes debacle will see them joined by a full-time chef.
One of Brendon McCullum’s first acts as head coach in 2022 was to remove England’s nutritionist, Emma Gardner, from the set-up on a day-to-day basis, amid a general streamlining of the backroom staff. The aim was to liberate the players by reducing the number of voices in the camp.
But the review into the Ashes this winter, when England travelled so light that they did not even have a fielding coach, accepted that this had gone too far and efforts have been made to beef the backroom team up again.
As part of this, England have recently been recruiting for a chef on a one-year contract, starting with the New Zealand series in June. Accusations around a lack of professionalism in Australia mainly related to alcohol consumption, but it appears there is a drive to ensure players are eating healthily, both at the ground and in the team hotel in the evening.
The advert for the role of “Performance Chef Consultant” calls for the successful candidate to “plan and execute menus that support training adaptation, match performance and recovery”.
England have used team chefs on tours of the subcontinent before, but having one in camp at home is new. In other sports, it is entirely standard.
As well as the chef, England have added Sarah Taylor as fielding coach, while Mike Yardy and Will Gidman will also work on a short-term basis as coaches.
England will also continue to have a midnight curfew this summer. A curfew was in place from 2017 to 2022, but was ditched under McCullum. In the wake of the revelation that Harry Brook had been punched by a nightclub bouncer in the early hours in Wellington last year, England brought the curfew back for the tour of Sri Lanka and India.
Flintoff in Thunderous mood
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff will remain head coach of England Lions despite taking charge of Big Bash franchise Sydney Thunder.
Flintoff is reported by the Daily Telegraph in Sydney to be replacing former England coach Trevor Bayliss as the Thunder boss, beating off competition from Englishman James Foster and Australian Dan Christian, and will work with captain David Warner.
Will Macpherson
Deputy Cricket Correspondent Will Macpherson
Will Macpherson covers the international and domestic game, and is based in London. See more
Published 14 May 2026 5:38pm BST
Related Topics
England Cricket Team, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, Brendon McCullum, David Warner, Alex Hales, Kent CCC
16
Add us as preferred source
Harry Brook of England takes a drink during Day Three of the 1st Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Headingley on June 22, 2025
England are advertising for a ‘performance chef consultant’ as they look to hone nutrition on and off the cricket field Credit: George Wood/Getty Images
England’s drive to run a more professional team environment after the Ashes debacle will see them joined by a full-time chef.
One of Brendon McCullum’s first acts as head coach in 2022 was to remove England’s nutritionist, Emma Gardner, from the set-up on a day-to-day basis, amid a general streamlining of the backroom staff. The aim was to liberate the players by reducing the number of voices in the camp.
But the review into the Ashes this winter, when England travelled so light that they did not even have a fielding coach, accepted that this had gone too far and efforts have been made to beef the backroom team up again.
As part of this, England have recently been recruiting for a chef on a one-year contract, starting with the New Zealand series in June. Accusations around a lack of professionalism in Australia mainly related to alcohol consumption, but it appears there is a drive to ensure players are eating healthily, both at the ground and in the team hotel in the evening.
The advert for the role of “Performance Chef Consultant” calls for the successful candidate to “plan and execute menus that support training adaptation, match performance and recovery”.
Village Cricket in Meopham, Kent with a table laid with beer and scotch eggs in 1963
Anyone for scotch eggs and bear at tea? Probably not the England team with their performance-focused menu Credit: VisitBritain RM/Getty Images
England have used team chefs on tours of the subcontinent before, but having one in camp at home is new. In other sports, it is entirely standard.
As well as the chef, England have added Sarah Taylor as fielding coach, while Mike Yardy and Will Gidman will also work on a short-term basis as coaches.
England will also continue to have a midnight curfew this summer. A curfew was in place from 2017 to 2022, but was ditched under McCullum. In the wake of the revelation that Harry Brook had been punched by a nightclub bouncer in the early hours in Wellington last year, England brought the curfew back for the tour of Sri Lanka and India.
Flintoff in Thunderous mood
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff will remain head coach of England Lions despite taking charge of Big Bash franchise Sydney Thunder.
Flintoff is reported by the Daily Telegraph in Sydney to be replacing former England coach Trevor Bayliss as the Thunder boss, beating off competition from Englishman James Foster and Australian Dan Christian, and will work with captain David Warner.
ECB spin camp at their performance centre at Loughborough University (16 Sep 2025). – Andrew Flintoff advising the young players
Flintoff will reportedly combine his England Lions role with a new job Down Under Credit: Adrian Sherratt for The Telegraph
Flintoff has been head coach of the Lions since 2024 and has quietly become an important part of the national set-up.
The Lions will name a squad in the coming days for their series against a strong South Africa A side, which starts on May 22 at Arundel. There are two first-class matches and three 50-over fixtures on South Africa A’s tour.
Later this year, the Lions will tour South Africa ahead of the full Test series there. The dates of the Lions tour are not yet clear, but Flintoff may have to leave early to fulfil his role with Thunder.
Saudis catch T20 bug
Saudi Arabia will host a franchise T20 tournament later this year, its first major foray into cricket.
The league, known as The Dunes T20, will launch in October, and will focus on recruiting big-name retired internationals such as David Warner, Keiron Pollard and Alex Hales.
Organisers say leading players will be paid six-figure salaries for the tournament, which will feature six franchise teams and last between two and three weeks at a single venue, the 4,000-capacity Taif Cricket Ground near Jeddah.
The announcement arrives against a backdrop of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), withdrawing from sports projects outside the country that it has bankrolled in recent years, most notably LIV Golf, because of their failure to return on investment.
PIF finally confirmed last month that after a $6bn (£4.4bn) outlay, it would be pulling funding from LIV at the end of the season, leaving the future of the tour uncertain.
In addition, PIF sold Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was cancelled two years into a 10-year deal, and plans to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup have been shelved.
The new cricket league is not a PIF project. It is sanctioned by the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation (SACF) and will be funded privately, with the six teams to be put out for tender in the coming weeks with investment invited in the league itself. While not a PIF project, SACF’s chairman, Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is a member of the Saudi royal family.
In recent years, talk of Saudi franchise cricket has swirled but not materialised until now. Last year, major boards, including England and India, combined to shut down the prospect of a Saudi-backed travelling league, likened to tennis’s grand slam circuit or Formula 1, by saying they would not permit their players’ involvement. In a busy franchise market, there seems little prospect of the Dunes T20 receiving the same treatment.
Literature relating to the tournament describes it as a “measured long-term investment into the sport”, which aims to “establish a sustainable cricket platform in the Kingdom”.
The league arrives amid a boom in franchise tournaments from less-established cricketing nations. June will see the launch of the EUT20, a five-team tournament in Belgium featuring the likes of Hales and James Vince.
Then in late summer, the European T20 Premier League will launch featuring two teams from each of Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Kent’s overseas stars ordeal
How is Kent’s luck in the capricious overseas market? On Wednesday, they announced that their star overseas signing Senuran Muthusamy would be arriving late because of a knee injury which has ruled him out of the Blast.
In his place, they signed the young South African all-rounder Dian Forrester. But a day later, Forrester was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for the last three IPL matches, so will be joining Kent late.
Kent also loaned the out-of-contract Warwickshire wrist-spinner Jake Lintott to cover for Muthusamy, as well as off-spinning all-rounder Bertie Foreman on a short-term deal.
What all this means for Matt Parkinson, the one-time England spinner who is under contract until next year but has only played once this year, is anyone’s guess.
Hampshire, meanwhile, have moved quickly to find cover for Liam Dawson’s red-ball retirement. They have signed the South African all-round Delano Potgieter for three matches, starting on Friday.
Rew moves back down
James Rew’s early season form has earned him a spot as England’s spare batsman against New Zealand. But it appears the experiment with opening for Somerset will last just one game, in which he made four and 0 against Glamorgan.
It is understood Rew is likely to return to No 4 against Sussex on Friday, with the outstanding young South Africa A batsman Jordan Hermann signing to open.