Cullture Club
FRASER: BRENDON’S FORMIDABLE, BUT LIKES TO ENTERTAIN... HE’LL WANT ENGLAND TO BE THE SAME
BY GARY FITZGERALD BRENDON McCULLUM is a “formidable character” who will want to “change the culture” of the England Test side.
New Zealand’s former big hitter has been hired by the ECB to try and stop the rot of just one win in 17 Tests, and ensure the summer is a red-hot success rather than more months of doom and gloom.
Angus Fraser knows McCullum well, having been the managing director at Middlesex when the Kiwi arrived for a white-ball stint at Lord’s in 2016.
And he feels the former wicketkeeper/batsman’s positive, aggressive philosophy is crucial.
McCullum, 40, teams up with Ben Stokes, who has an equally attack-minded, front-foot approach to cricket, and Fraser believes there could be exciting, entertaining times ahead.
He is giving up his IPL coaching role with Kolkata Knight Riders to take the reins with England.
McCullum’s first important challenge ironically comes against New Zealand in the opening Test of the summer at Lord’s starting on June 2, and he has a big task on his
hands. Former Test bowler and selector Fraser said: “Brendon is a very formidable character and confident person, and he had a very good Test career.
“So while he’s regarded by many as more of a whiteball cricketer, he was certainly a success with the red ball too.
“He was credited with overhauling New Zealand cricket which was at a very low point when he was captain.
“He grabbed hold of that, completely changed the culture and, obviously, set them on the way to where they are now – one of the highly respected Test and one-day sides in the world.
“The way Brendon played cricket and the image and reputation he has is very strong and a good one.
“He does play the game in the right way. He does play with a smile on his face. And he does go out there to try and entertain.
“Eoin Morgan is a very good friend of his, and Eoin credits a lot of his success with the England white-ball team down to adopting similar principles to McCullum.
“Ben Stokes as captain is a good move, too. But again,
there’s a little bit of risk with his history. It could be a very interesting summer of cricket to watch with England that’s for sure.”
Fraser, though, does sound a word of warning to those England fans hoping to see instant success.
He added: “Sometimes things are easy but not easy to put in place on the cricket field – like playing without fear.
“So it will be interesting to see how it goes. It’s one thing wanting to play that sort of cricket but you also need players who can play it.
“We have tried that with the likes of
Jason Roy and
Jos Buttler with the Test team in the past, and it’s not worked.
“Against that, you don’t want people going deeply into their shells, as Dominic Sibley and one or two others have done, and you wonder where the next run is coming from.”