McCullum likes a challenge, and he’s got one with England
Frankly, it’s too soon to say if he is the right coach because of his inexperience and the pitiful state of the test team, which can’t get any worse.
Do not scratch your eyes, New Zealand cricket fans. Brendon McCullum, the talismanic former New Zealand captain who led the charge in the Black Caps’ memorable run to the 2015 Cricket World Cup final, is on the verge of becoming England’s new test coach.
Not only that, his first task will be to lead England’s hopeless test team against Kane Williamson’s Black Caps, the reigning world test champions, in three tests in England in June.
And England’s new captain? None other than Ben Stokes, whose heroics (and loads of fortune) denied the Black Caps their first World Cup title in the dramatic 2019 decider at Lord’s. Yes, the Super Over final.
You probably know that Stokes was born in Christchurch and moved to England, aged 12, because of his late father Ged’s rugby league coaching career.
The bullish all-rounder was this month confirmed as Joe Root’s replacement for a new era of English test cricket after a dreadful run in the longest format.
Is a duo of McCullum and Stokes a match made in heaven?
Or another false step by the England Cricket Board (ECB) after a 4-0 drubbing by Australia in last summer’s Ashes?
Let’s see.
McCullum made his name as an aggressive wicketkeeper/ batter, translating that bravado into his captaincy and with success, mostly, throughout a memorable career in all formats.
Rob Key, the ECB’s new managing director of cricket, is selecting separate coaches for England’s red and white-ball teams after Chris Silverwood’s sacking in February.
While England’s one-day team has thrived with the white ball under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, the test side has been dire, with one win in its last 17 tests.
McCullum and Morgan’s close relationship through Twenty20 cricket indicated that a combination between the pair would be a perfect fit for England’s one-day teams.
Morgan has even credited McCullum with inspiring England’s successful switch to a more aggressive approach in oneday cricket after their miserable 50-over World Cup campaign in 2015.
This makes McCullum’s imminent appointment as England’s test coach even more of a surprise.
His only high-profile job as a head coach has been in T20 cricket with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League although he had a leadership role when playing for the Brisbane Heat in Australia’s Big Bash League.
England’s test team is in disarray.
But for Root, their batting has been atrocious, collapsing like dominoes with laughable regularity, their bowling attack is unsettled and inexperienced, with no quality spinner, and veteran quicks James Anderson and Stuart Broad were oddly dumped for the last tour of the West Indies (England lost 1-0).
Both are set to return under captain Stokes. It’s a massive job for McCullum and an enormous challenge, but one he appears to relish.
Frankly, it’s too soon to say if he is the right coach because of his inexperience and the pitiful state of the test team, which can’t get any worse.
Still, June’s series has been gripped with an unexpected plot twist that raises an interesting question for Black Caps supporters.
How do you feel about ex-New Zealand captains working for the likes of England and Australia?
Don’t forget that Daniel Vettori has been heavily linked to become a senior assistant coach for Australia.
You’re probably bewildered and won’t know until McCullum and Vettori are in English and Australian gear respectively. Think about it.
Weird? You bet, albeit at a time when international coaches are playing musical chairs for cricket’s top jobs, whatever country they’re from. Stokes and McCullum, who was born and raised in Otago, combining to lead England’s revival in test cricket?
Whether there are fireworks or the latest smouldering mess in English test cricket, you can’t deny it’s intriguing.