3 reasons why Brendon McCullum should not be England’s white-ball coach
Matthew Mott resigned from his position as England's white-ball coach on Tuesday, July 30. This comes after England failed to defend their T20 World Cup title in June 2024. The former England batter Marcus Trescothick has been handed over the role on an interim basis.
Mott took charge in May 2022 and tasted an early success as England won the 2022 T20 World Cup later that year. However, England had disappointing campaigns in the next two white-ball ICC events. The side wasn’t able to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and has now failed to retain its T20 World Cup title.
On Mott's departure, England and Wales Cricket Board Director Robert Key said (as quoted by ecb.co.uk):
"On behalf of everyone connected to England cricket and me personally, I would like to thank Mathew for all he has done for the team since his appointment. He can be proud of his achievements as he leaves his post as one of only three coaches who have won a Men’s World Cup with England.
"After three World Cup cycles in a short space of time, I now feel the team needs a new direction to prepare for the challenges ahead. This decision was not made lightly, but I believe it is the right time for the team's future success."
Now, with a focus on the Champions Trophy, England is in search of a new white-ball head coach, with several big names associated with the position. There’s also a focus on whether England's red-ball coach Brendon McCullum can become the white-ball coach.
While the answer to this remains unknown, we take a look at three reasons why the former New Zealand captain should not be made England's coach in the white-ball format.
#1 It didn’t work out for England’s last all-three format coach
Chris Silverwood was England’s last all-three format coach after replacing the 2019 ODI World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss.
Although Silverwood had a respectable record in the white ball format, England's Test performance declined while he was in charge. He started on a high note by winning a series in South Africa and Sri Lanka.
However, things changed in 2021. England only won one of their last 14 tests before he was sacked after the 2021–22 Ashes in February 2022, which the visitors lost 4/0.
Since one or two forms consistently suffer under this setup, divided coaching is the way to go, which is why Brendon McCullum shouldn't be appointed the white-ball format coach for England.
#2 Divided Attention
The England Test team defeated the West Indies 3-0 in the recently concluded series under Brendon McCullum.
With the ICC Champions Trophy and World Test Championship final scheduled to take place in 2025, having the same coach for the three formats could be difficult as he will be managing and dividing his focus between different formats.
Taking on the added duty of coaching white-ball cricket could cause McCullum to become less effective and focus less on his current project of transforming the Test team.
England would benefit more from having a full-time white-ball coach who can concentrate on the ICC Champions Trophy next year and develop a team for the T20 World Cup in 2026.
#3 Workload
McCullum has mostly built his coaching reputation in Test cricket, where his audacious and aggressive style of play is referred to as "Bazball." It will take a lot of effort and concentration to coach in both the Test and white-ball formats, which might not be good for England.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain doubted whether Brendon McCullum would want such an overload and told Sky Sports:
“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. It has worked for other nations… for India, Rahul Dravid did it very well, but I don’t think McCullum or others would want it [both jobs]," Nasser said.
"Coaches are quite happy having some time to themselves, and have the ability to do some work in the IPL maybe – though whether an England coach could do that at the same time, I don’t know?" he continued.
Considering the workload factor, England should look for another coach for the white-ball format instead of Brendon McCullum.