Kiwi legend Brendon McCullum emerges as favourite to become new England Test coach

New Zealand legend Brendon McCullum has emerged as the new favourite to be named England’s Test coach this week.

And the 40-year-old could form a dream team partnership with Ben Stokes as captain, as two men who have similar positive outlooks on the game and how to take it forward.

South African Gary Kirsten was believed to be the front runner for the Test job while McCullum had been mentioned as a possible coach for the white ball team thanks to his experience in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and his leadership of New Zealand’s beaten 50 over World Cup finalists in 2015.

But that ignores his Test pedigree in which he played 101 times for the Blackcaps, captaining them on 31 occasions. And with perfect timing, Lord's could host a remarkable reunion with McCullum's first assignment set to be against his countrymen on June 2, with the New Zealand born Stokes leading the side.

McCullum’s name has often been used in conjunction with his good friend Eoin Morgan, England’s 50-over World Cup winning captain, and who led KKR under him last year.

He admits he took inspiration from McCullum when he revolutionised England’s white ball setup and he has been a strong influence on new managing director Rob Key too.

Key revealed that he had sought Morgan’s advice not only on white ball matters but red ball too. In his first media conference Key said: “Actually I’ve spoken to Eoin about red-ball cricket as well, not saying that he’s going to be captain, but I asked his opinion. I said you want good people with good brains around you to work stuff out, so Eoin Morgan is someone I would speak to about so many different things.”

McCullum might have become a global superstar thanks to his white ball