Swashbuckling England have served notice to Test rivals – Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum believes England’s dynamic displays against New Zealand will have set “alarm bells” ringing around the cricket world.

McCullum’s first series as head coach against his fellow Kiwis proved a huge success, with England banishing their long run of poor form and chalking up three thrilling victories at Lord’s, Trent Bridge and Headingley.

Even more striking was the way they went about their business, scoring their runs at a staggering rate of 4.54 and chasing down supposedly challenging totals of 277, 299 and 296 with apparent ease.

It all adds up to a stunning calling card for McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, who promised entertaining cricket when they were thrown together at the start of the summer and have delivered in spades so far.

McCullum kept a low profile during the series but clearly felt his side had made a splash.

“The world Test champions were a formidable opponent to overcome and the alarm bells have probably gone off somewhat around world cricket as to how this team is going to play,” he said.

“When Ben’s out there captaining he’s constantly making plays, which I think is great because it means at least we’re in control, regardless of what the scoreboard says. Then when he’s batting, he’s pushing the envelope as well, which is sending a message to not just our dressing room but to other dressing rooms around the world that this is how we’re going to play.

I'm aggressive but Ben's got me covered, which is saying something- Brendon McCullum

“Obviously you want to be the number one team in the world and you want to achieve the ultimate success, which is being world Test champions, winning the Ashes and beating the top teams consistently.

“That’s the end goal, but what we need to do first of all