September 4, 2024

Ben Stokes Calls McCullum’s Appointment as White-Ball Coach an ‘Unbelievable Move’

Test Captain Welcomes ECB’s Decision to Appoint McCullum Across Formats

England Test captain Ben Stokes has praised the ECB’s decision to appoint Brendon McCullum as the new coach for both Test and limited-overs formats, calling it “an unbelievable move.” Stokes believes McCullum’s influence will greatly benefit the upcoming generation of players in white-ball cricket.

The ECB announced on Tuesday that McCullum will take on both roles starting in 2025, extending his contract with English cricket until the end of 2027. Since McCullum became the Test coach in May 2022, he and Stokes have transformed England’s Test team, leading them to win 19 out of 28 matches, including six series victories and just one defeat—against India earlier this year.

However, England’s limited-overs team has struggled since the end of the era of the 2019 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup-winning team. Matthew Mott, who was appointed alongside McCullum to manage the limited-overs teams, resigned in July after disappointing performances at the 2023 World Cup and the recent T20 tournament.

Bazball Expands Across All Formats with McCullum’s New Role

Brendon McCullum’s “Bazball” approach will now be applied to all formats of the game. His new role will involve guiding the transition of talent in England’s 50-over and T20I teams, similar to his successful work with the Test team. This dual role might also clarify Test captain Ben Stokes’ future in limited-overs cricket, as Stokes opted out of the recent T20 World Cup but is expected to be available for the Champions Trophy in early 2025.

At an event in London, Stokes, who is sponsored by Red Bull, expressed his enthusiasm about McCullum’s appointment. He believes it will greatly benefit limited-overs captain Jos Buttler and hinted that he may have played a role in the decision.

“I was very surprised by the news,” Stokes joked to iplwin365. “First and foremost, I think it’s an unbelievable move for English cricket to go back to having a coach in charge of all the teams. You look at what Baz has achieved with the Test side, it’s been amazing.”

“I’m really excited for the white-ball team to have the opportunity to be able to work with Baz, listen to him speak, his opinions. How his outlook on life reflects cricket, if that makes sense.”

“I think Jos is going to really, really enjoy having him as his coach to work with. And you look at all the new faces who are coming into that white-ball team now, I couldn’t think of a better person for them to come in and work under at international level for the first time.”

“He just gives everyone the platform to go out and enjoy themselves. That doesn’t always necessarily mean it’s going to reflect on your performances, but Baz never puts any added pressure on anybody’s shoulders whatsoever so far.

“If there was any selfishness, selfishness within me, I would be saying ‘no, please don’t’. But I’m an English fan, I’m an England cricket fan and I couldn’t think of a better person to be appointed to be the new coach of the white-ball team as well.”

Stokes’ Availability for First Test Against Pakistan in Doubt

Ben Stokes may not be ready for the first Test against Pakistan, which starts on October 7, due to a torn left hamstring he suffered while playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred last month. He is currently rehabilitating with the England team during their series against Sri Lanka and is also supporting stand-in captain Ollie Pope, who will lead if Stokes is unable to play.

Pope has led England to a 2-0 series lead against Sri Lanka, with the final Test at the Kia Oval starting on Friday. However, Pope has struggled with his batting, averaging just 7.50 from four innings while balancing his captaincy duties.

Stokes has been practicing his footwork and gradually increasing his hamstring’s strength in the nets at Lord’s. Despite making progress, both Stokes and the ECB medical team are cautious about rushing his return due to the risk of aggravating the injury.

“The recurrence rate of these injuries is 50%, which is quite high,” Stokes explained. “I’d rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse and then putting myself out of the game for longer. I’m just making sure that I’m doing everything right and everything I possibly can to try and give myself a chance to being fit for that first Test.”

“I got told straight away that, within a couple of days, you’ll feel good as gold. That doesn’t mean that it’s healed. So you have to be careful.”

“I’ve stayed around the team because I wanted to be here, but as well, so I’m around the medical team every day. Because anything that I can do, even if it gives me a chance of being back three or four days earlier than initially thought, it’s done its job.”

“Rehab with hamstrings is incredibly boring, I’ve found out. It’s the first one I’ve done and I can’t really do that much except walk around. I’ve just started doing some double-leg stuff so I can load my left leg now.”

“The doctor, our physio and our S&C (strength and conditioning) coach are trying their hardest to rein me back in. I’m constantly saying, ‘Oh, can we do some running next week? Can I play golf tomorrow?’ It’s all a bit of wind-up.”