Brendon McCullum backs England to lead Test cricket’s recovery
Brendon McCullum believes England can reverse the “downward trend” of red-ball cricket across the globe. The former New Zealand captain has been appointed head coach of the England Test team in an attempt to improve their fortunes after a run of only one win in their past 17 matches.
“I think, for me, red-ball cricket has always been the pinnacle of the sport, if you look at where the game sits currently, it’s probably on a bit of a downward trend and to me the nation that can really change that is England,” McCullum told Sky Sports.
“Because of the tradition of Test cricket here in England and I guess the fan following and the support that it gets in this country. For us to be competitive in Test cricket, I think will go a long way in trying to be able to hopefully just shift that a little bit in terms of the perception of red-ball cricket moving forward.”
McCullum also hailed his new Test captain, Ben Stokes, as a “really strong leader” and admitted he will not be a hands-on technical coach. “I certainly don’t coach technically. I understand the technique obviously but for me it’s more around tactics and man-management and trying to provide the right environment for the team to try and go out there and be the best versions of themselves,” the 40-year-old said.
“So I think with Stokesy as captain we’ve got a really strong leader, a ‘follow me’ type of captain and so I think my job will be to try and ensure that we’re consistent with a lot of our messaging. I’ll look after the guys inside the environment as well and try and allow them to really grow at a speed which they might not have got to previously, so it’s a big challenge.”
McCullum admits it was a “big risk” for everyone involved to hand him the job but he