Head coach Matthew Mott made the decision to resign following England’s dismal performances in the ODI World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024. After much deliberation, Brendon McCullum—who was also coaching the Test team—was named the new head coach for white-ball cricket.
England became one of the most formidable rivals in Test cricket history under his direction as they modified their tactics and style of play. Ben Stokes captained the team. However, England has been playing aggressively in white-ball cricket for a while now, but their recent results haven’t been good.
The position of head coach for white-ball cricket in 2022 was also extended to Brendon McCullum, but he turned it down because of the position’s demanding schedule.
But this time, he agreed to take on the role, saying it has become more relaxed. But according to former cricketer Michael Atherton, McCullum will find it difficult to balance the formats.
He mentioned that VVS Laxman occasionally filled in for Rahul Dravid during the Indian cricket team’s period, and he believes that would soon happen in England. When McCullum was hired for Test cricket, the 56-year-old said, the white-ball team appeared to be in control, but since then, everything has drastically changed.
“At his appointment, he now mentions that the timeline has loosened somewhat from 2025. It won’t be as easy as it once was, but there are still going to be a lot of obstacles to overcome. I have no doubts about McCullum’s qualifications, but the extra work and time required to organise, get ready, and play as a one-day team will be the difficulty. Atherton commented on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, “You’re definitely going to have to be doing that during a Test trip at times.
Marcus Trescothick is expected to fill in occasionally: Michael Atherton
The former England opener brought up another noteworthy point. He described the coaching structure used by Team India, in which certain former players filled in for Rahul Dravid when he was not available. Additionally, Michael Atherton mentioned that earlier, when Eoin Morgan captained England’s limited overs team pretty well, the Test format presented a greater challenge. The task has reversed recently, though, so McCullum will need to demonstrate his abilities going forward as he accepted coaching in limited overs as well.
“It will likely make the people around him extremely essential. Marcus Trescothick, who will undoubtedly fill in occasionally as the interim coach for this Australia series at the end of the summer, is one such person. That is the method used by India. Until recently, only one player was doing both for them—Rahul Dravid—but other players have occasionally filled in to give the head coach a rest,” the former opener went on.
According to Atherton, “when McCullum accepted the Test position, he stated he believed the one-day work was a little bit of a cushy role because that was going so well under Eoin Morgan and the Test team was more of a challenge, and that’s almost flipped now.”
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Interestingly, Brendon McCullum is expected to be in the England squad for the away series against the West Indies but will miss the country’s next white-ball assignment against Australia.
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