McCullum’s introduction to the role was a long time coming. His new contract, as England’s dual red-and-white-ball head coach, was announced in September, and he has since overseen back-to-back Test tours to Pakistan and New Zealand, while Marcus Trescothick covered the one-day role. interim.
Now, however, McCullum is squarely in the hot seat, with a five-match T20I campaign against the newly crowned T20 World Cup champions, followed by three ODIs against the finalists of the last 50-over World Cup in 2023. , ahead of their first Champions Trophy match against Australia in Lahore on February 22.
Speaking at Eden Gardens before the first T20I, McCullum described England’s batting as “as powerful as any in the world” but said that, at this stage, he was more focused on freeing up his players to perform at their best. , instead of seeking absolute victory.
“Obviously we want to win every game we play, try to be successful, and that’s ultimately our mission,” he said. “But our conversations and the language we use inside the locker room is quite different.
“It’s about trying to get the best out of the talent that’s within the dressing room, trying to bring the boys together as best we can, trying to develop complementary skills and how we play the style of cricket that gives us our best chance.
“I’m desperate for us to play a really visible brand of cricket,” he added. “With the talent we have, there is no reason why we can’t. We have a batting line-up that is as powerful as any batting line-up in the world. We have spinners, very good fielders and guys who bowl absolute rockets with the ball, so you have options to entertain yourself and have the best chance of success.”
McCullum takes charge of a white-ball setup in full transition, with the team losing their 50-over and 20-over World Cup titles in the space of seven disheartening months in 2023-24. However, his selections for this campaign made it clear that he intends to use his role as joint coach to unify Test and one-day setups, with eight of his 15 selections for the ODI team having featured in the longer format in the course of 2024.
“He’s smiling, that’s good. He’s very happy at the moment,” McCullum confirmed, adding that his pre-existing relationship with Buttler, forged during his own playing days in the IPL and around the world, had allowed them to hit the ground running. . as a captain-coach combination.
“We’ve obviously known for a couple of months that this was going to happen, so there’s been a lot of time to chat with Jos over the last few months,” McCullum said. “When I took on the Test job, Stokesy and I knew each other and there was a mutual respect, but we wouldn’t necessarily say we were friends, even though it is now a very close personal relationship, as well as a working relationship.
“With Jos, we actually start from a bit stronger base. Jos and I have been friends for a long time, we often share some of the philosophies of the game, and that friendship gives us a really good foundation to be able to make things happen.” They work pretty fast with this equipment.
“He’s in a really good place. He’s excited about the team and the opportunity we have in front of us. I’m sure we’ll see Jos really enjoy himself over the next few years and hopefully he ends up having a lot of fun.” for the game at the end of his career.
McCullum also confirmed that Buttler would once again give up the gloves to lead the team from the field rather than behind the stumps, with Phil Salt likely to continue in the role he took on in both series in the Caribbean in November.
“It’s a really positive thing for us, because it gives Jos the opportunity to have the last word with the pitcher and build that relationship in that last second, instead of 22 yards away,” McCullum said. “We also have great options to stay within the team.”
At the age of 34, and a double World Cup winner, Buttler has little left to prove as one of the modern greats of the white-ball game. But, having witnessed the success and enjoyment Stokes has gained from leading the Test team over the last few years, McCullum believes there is scope for Buttler to put a lid on his own career in a similar way.
“I think his best years are definitely ahead of him,” she said. “Sometimes when you have the opportunity to lead in the latter part of your career, you can be a little desperate for success and that can create frustrations, and it’s not so pleasant.
“But if you can let yourself go a little bit, with nothing to prove other than trying to get the best out of those around you, sometimes that can improve your game a little more. Those are the conversations Jos and I have had. He’s totally for Ok with that, he’s excited about the time ahead and I’m sure you’ll see him smile.
“It’s going to be a tough tour. We’re going up against a very good Indian team and I’m sure we’ll play what I hope will be a very watchable style of cricket. I’m sure there will be some moments.” We’re not doing it all that well but hopefully we’ll improve in the coming weeks and we’ll be in good shape when the Champions Trophy comes around.
“But we are very focused on this series, knowing that India are a very good cricket team, particularly in their own conditions.”
