5 days Ago
England’s white-ball teams will have Brendon McCullum at the helm when they regroup for a tour of India in the new year as Marcus Trescothick’s caretaker stint came to an end in the Caribbean. Here, the PA news agency assesses what might be on the agenda immediately for McCullum when he becomes limited-overs head coach from January in addition to the same existing role he has with the Test side. Hit the ground running McCullum had instant success when appointed to the Test job in May 2022 after passing on the white-ball position that went to Matthew Mott, who was sacked in July following twin World Cup disappointments.
Taking charge of a side that had been victorious just once in their 17 previous attempts, the Bazball era began with 10 wins in 11 Tests. McCullum could do with flying out the traps once again. It is a baptism of fire as England’s last ODI series win in India was in January 1985.
They then head to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in February and March. Strike a balance When the coaching roles were split two-and-a-half years ago, the successful ODI and T20 sides led by Mott all too often played second fiddle to McCullum rebuilding a languishing Test team. Without many all-format stars to call upon outside of global events, England’s form dipped and McCullum inherits a 50-over side that have lost 13 of their past 20 ODIs and sit seventh in the world rankings.
But with a cramped schedule easing slightly next year and McCullum assuming responsibility for all English cricket, there is an expectation there will be more of a crossover of talent. A five-Test series at home to India next summer plus the Ashes in Australia that follows in the winter are top of the priority list but the Champions Trophy should not be far behind that. Bring back Ben Stokes and Joe Root While the likes of Harry Brook, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson could find themselves in coloured clothing more often, England could do with the steady influences of Stokes and Root in the ODI team.
Neither has featured outside of Tests in the last 12 months although Stokes, England’s hero in the 2019 World Cup final and the 2022 T20 equivalent, is open to resuming his white-ball career under McCullum. Root was curiously rested against Australia at the back end of the summer and his reputation for being able to accumulate at a good rate was badly missed during a couple of batting collapses. Having recently become England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, Root would surely love to do the same in ODIs and he is only 435 behind Eoin Morgan, who sits at the top of the list.
Empower Jos Buttler Buttler’s hangdog expressions as England relinquished both white-ball World Cups led to him being described as “miserable at times” by McCullum, who has made it his mission to cheer up the 34-year-old. England’s white-ball captain had a sunnier disposition during the 3-1 T20 series triumph against the West Indies, where he stepped away from wicketkeeping to field closer to his bowlers and dropped to batting at number three on his return after four months on the sidelines with a calf injury. Might another experiment be worthwhile in ODIs? Buttler has batted at five or six for most of his career but a shuffle up the order might be just the challenge he relishes.
Cosy up to Jofra Archer It will be interesting to see how McCullum gels with a number of players but surely top of the list is Jofra Archer, who has come through a white-ball programme against Australia and the Windies unscathed. After an injury-plagued past few years, a Test return in 2025 is on the cards for the fast bowling x-factor, who might just benefit from the relaxed and positive approach McCullum espouses..
