Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand cricketer, has been appointed as England’s new men’s white-ball coach.
McCullum, 42, will combine this role with his current position as the Test coach, starting in January 2025. He will replace Australian Matthew Mott, who stepped down after the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Since taking over as Test coach, McCullum has led a significant turnaround for England’s Test team alongside captain Ben Stokes.
His new contract will extend his role with England until the end of 2027 and include responsibilities for both the Test and white-ball teams.
McCullum expressed excitement about this new challenge, stating, “I’m ready to embrace this new challenge and look forward to working closely with [captain] Jos Buttler and the team to build on the strong foundations already in place.”
McCullum also praised Rob Key, England’s men’s director of cricket, for his vision for the future of English cricket, particularly the idea of a unified coaching structure.
“The idea of a unified coaching structure, especially with the schedule easing next year, made perfect sense. I’m energized by the prospect of guiding both teams. The talent within English cricket is immense,” he added.
In the meantime, Marcus Trescothick will serve as the interim head coach for the white-ball team during their upcoming series against Australia and the Caribbean later this year.
McCullum’s first assignment as the new white-ball coach will be England’s tour of India, followed by the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February.
Since McCullum took over as Test coach, England has adopted a fearless style of play, nicknamed ‘Bazball.’ Under his guidance, England has won 19 of their 28 Tests, scoring at an average of 4.57 runs per over, compared to 3.09 in their previous 29 Tests.
McCullum is also credited with inspiring the style of play that helped England’s white-ball team transition from a disappointing World Cup exit in 2015 to becoming champions in 2019.
McCullum takes over the white-ball team at a time when some members of the World Cup-winning squad are nearing the end of their careers. Under Mott, England won the T20 World Cup in Australia but struggled in the 50-over World Cup in India last year, winning only three of their nine matches, and were eliminated in the semi-finals of the T20 tournament in the Caribbean and the United States.
Rob Key expressed his delight at McCullum’s decision to take on both coaching roles, saying, “I’m delighted Brendon has chosen to do both roles with England. I believe we are incredibly fortunate that a coach of his quality is prepared to commit wholeheartedly to English cricket. Being able to align all teams now is particularly exciting.”
After the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka at The Oval, McCullum will take a short break in New Zealand before rejoining the Test team for their winter tours of Pakistan in October and a three-match series against New Zealand in December.
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