Ben Stokes expressed his pleasant surprise when Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach of England’s white-ball teams. This decision came after McCullum, a former New Zealand captain, had already established himself as the coach of England’s Test team, a position he took up in 2022 following Chris Silverwood’s departure.
Stokes, who has closely worked with McCullum in the Test format, was confident that McCullum’s appointment would bring significant benefits to England’s ODI and T20I teams as well.
After the T20 World Cup in 2024, where England’s performance led to Matthew Mott stepping down as the white-ball coach, McCullum was seen as the natural choice to step into this role.
His successful tenure with the Test team, alongside Stokes, has already seen England adopt an aggressive and innovative brand of cricket. Stokes believes that this approach, which has redefined their Test cricket identity, will also positively influence the limited-overs formats.
“I was very surprised by the news” – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes said: “I was very surprised by the news. First and foremost, I think it’s an unbelievable move for English cricket to go back to having a coach in charge of all the teams. You look at what Baz has achieved with the Test side, it’s been amazing.”
“I’m really excited for the white-ball team to have the opportunity to be able to work with Baz, listen to him speak, his opinions. How his outlook on life reflects cricket, if that makes sense.”
Stokes is particularly optimistic about the impact McCullum will have on England’s white-ball captain, Jos Buttler. He mentioned that Buttler would ‘really enjoy’ working under McCullum’s leadership. Stokes also highlighted that McCullum’s experience and forward-thinking mindset would be invaluable to the younger players in the squad, helping them to develop and excel on the international stage.
The combination of McCullum and Stokes has already set a high standard in Test cricket, and now, with McCullum at the helm of the ODI and T20I teams, there is a strong belief that England will continue to evolve and dominate across all formats. Currently, England is leading their Test series against Sri Lanka 2-0, with the final match set to take place on September 6 at the Kennington Oval in London.
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