Buckle up for Baz England ride
Kiwi connection as Brendon McCullum teams with Ben Stokes
Former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum has been confirmed as the new head coach of England’s test team. The 40-year-old, who coaches the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, has never been in charge of a test team and only retired from playing in 2019.
His contract with the England Cricket Board is lucrative, reportedly worth $3.9m over four years.
He was regarded as the catalyst behind New Zealand’s emergence as a major force in the test game — the Black Caps won the inaugural world test championship last year — and his preference for attacking cricket will be welcomed by new captain Ben Stokes at the start of a new era for England.
“For a kid from south Dunedin to be given the opportunity to try and help lead one of the biggest nations in the world into the next era and hopefully try and reinvigorate some things and get some better results is pretty humbling,” McCullum said.
“It’s a big challenge and change for us. “We’ve just settled back into things post-playing career. But the family’s fully supportive.
“The white-ball [job] did not interest me as the team is flying, one of the best teams in the world.
“I wasn’t really interested in a cushy gig. If you are prepared to change your life for something it’s got to be something that’s a bit grunty and a little bit meaty, the challenge of trying to bring a team that’s rock bottom.”
McCullum’s first series with England will be against New Zealand in June, with the opening test beginning June 2 at Lord’s.
England have won only one of their last 17 tests, a run that includes a humiliating 4-0 series loss in the Ashes.
That sparked a rush of dismissals and resignations — at one stage, England didn’t have a captain, coach or head of men’s cricket — but the leadership roles have been filled now, with Stokes replacing Joe Root as captain and Rob Key the replacement for Ashley Giles as director of cricket.
“I believe in Brendon and Ben Stokes — a formidable coach and captain partnership,” said Key.
“Time for us all to buckle up and get ready for the ride.
“He has a recent history of changing cricket culture and environments for the better and I believe he is the person to do that for England’s red-ball cricket.”
McCullum takes the position previously held by Chris Silverwood, who oversaw the test and limited-overs teams.
The ECB has decided the red-ball and white-ball duties should be split.
McCullum described Stokes as “the perfect character to inspire change around him“, and is likely to make relaxing England’s midnight team curfew one of his first big decisions as the team’s new test head coach.
It is understood Stokes is keen for the curfew to be dropped and he is unlikely to meet opposition from McCullum, who will want to build a good working relationship with his captain from day one as they embark on a partnership that could include two Ashes series over the length of his deal.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead believes England will immediately become a tougher proposition.
“I was initially a little surprised to hear Brendon’s name thrown around.
“I didn’t know he was interested in that at all, but fantastic for him,” Stead said. “I’m sure he will give the England
team a little boost and it’ll be strange having a familiar face sitting across the dugout there as well to compete against us.
“Good on Brendon, I think for New Zealand cricket it’s a real positive. It shows the coaching stocks of New Zealand had been sought after and have been for a long period of time, and this is another example of that.
“We’re looking forward to it. I think we can expect some immediate improvements from England as well.
“And I think you usually find that when you get a new coach, new captain setup, that you have a lot of people in there in their environment that will want to prove things. So we need to be ready for that.”
McCullum will travel to England after the Knight Riders complete their IPL group campaign on May 18.