Brendon McCullum: England can be the nation to reverse Test cricket’s fortunes

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 a bid to improve their fortunes, with just one win in their last 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 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.”

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