Test cricket has to be fun

BRENDON McCullum wants to make his Test squad the hottest ticket in English cricket, ensuring there is nowhere his players would rather be.

There have never been more opportunities for top talent to thrive in the sport, with the T20 franchise circuit booming and lucrative contracts on offer all over the world.

More than 60 England qualified players headed for leagues in South Africa, Australia and the United Arab Emirates over the winter, while the likes of Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran and Jason Roy have all opted to ply their trade as white-ball specialists.

Gloomy predictions about the allure of the future of the five-day format are not new but McCullum’s England are bucking the trend.

England started this month’s tour of New Zealand with a team bonding camp in Arrowtown, where the aim of the game was making memories rather than hundreds.

“There’s so many options these days, you’ve got to make Test cricket enjoyable not just on the field but off the field too,” explained McCullum.

“Test cricket is hard and travelling the world can be difficult, but it’s meant to be a fun time in your life and you should be able to enjoy it, not just on the field but off the field as well. Things the guys have done over the past week or so will, hopefully, be memories they can take with them for a long time.

“You try and get those guys to know when they board the plane to head overseas or jump into the car to head down to Lord’s or whatever to join up with the team, they know they’re going to have a great time. The results will hopefully follow.

“You can’t guarantee that but what you can do is ensure you put some money in the bank when it comes to experiences and relationships.

“I always felt when I was playing that everything was based around the cricket and sometimes you forgot to enjoy yourself.

“You have one crack at life, why would you not want to enjoy it? That’s the theory, we’ll see how it works out but it’s worth a crack.”