McCullum Ready to Work Alongside England’s New Test Head Coach
England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum says he looks forward to collaborating with the country’s next Test head coach. After guiding England to an ODI series win over India, McCullum confirmed he will stay out of the Test selection process
London: England’s white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum has expressed confidence in working collaboratively with the country’s next Test head coach so that the side delivers good results in all three formats.
McCullum bounced back remarkably from losing his Test coaching job with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this month to guide the side to twin white-ball series wins over India.
The 2-1 ODI series triumph was sealed with a thrilling 27-run win in a dramatic finale at Lord’s, where England posted a record List A total at the venue of 387/3, courtesy Ben Duckett’s 141 and half-centuries from Jacob Bethell and Joe Root.
With the ECB expected to interview candidates for the Test coach vacancy this week, McCullum said, “Collaboratively, I think once the new coach is put in place, we’ll have a good conversation around everything. I think ultimately as long as everyone wants what is right for English cricket, there will be some give and take on certain things.
“That is the way it is. There will be situations where you do have to give and there will be situations where the Test coach will give as well and fundamentally you are trying to get what is right for English cricket. I look forward to those conversations when the time comes,” he said in a press conference at the conclusion of the series.
McCullum also revealed he will have no involvement in picking his replacement ahead of next month’s three-Test series against Pakistan. “No, I have enough on my plate trying to work out the white-ball stuff. I’ll respectfully stay in my lane there.
“I think we’ve seen some growth in the side over the last couple of series and there is some more growth to come (with the white-ball teams), which is exciting and where my focus is on.
Former Australia head coach Justin Langer and former England batter Jonathan Trott are among the front-runners for the job after Andy Flower ruled himself out of it. McCullum also confirmed he will stay in England to watch the 100-ball tournament.
“I’ll be around for The Hundred. It will be great to see some of England’s premier white-ball tournaments. If you’re white-ball coach, it’s good to be around for that! I look forward to seeing not just the guys who are in this (white-ball) squad, but also some of the next talent perform under the bright lights of The Hundred tournament.
“It will be good to be able to see that up close over the next four weeks or so. I’ll look to try and get around to those games to see that and hopefully we see some more talent,” he concluded.
