Brendon McCullum appointed England males’s Test head coach

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been appointed head coach of England’s check crew, the nation’s cricket board (ECB) mentioned on Thursday.

McCullum changed Chris Silverwood who left the function in February after England had been thrashed 4-0 within the Ashes in Australia, with Paul Collingwood stepping in as a caretaker coach.

McCullum, 40, is presently accountable for Indian Premier League facet Kolkata Knight Riders however the ECB mentioned he might be in place to start out his function when New Zealand go to for a three-test collection beginning at Lord’s on June 2.

“We are delighted to confirm Brendon as England men’s test head coach. It has been a real privilege to get to know him and understand his views and vision for the game,” ECB managing director Rob Key mentioned in a press release.

“I’m no stranger to bringing about change within a team environment, and I can’t wait to get started.”

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 12, 2022

“He has a latest historical past of adjusting cricket tradition and environments for the higher, and I imagine he’s the individual to try this for England’s red-ball cricket.

“We were incredibly fortunate to have a seriously strong list of quality candidates for the post, with Brendon demonstrating he was our number one choice.”

Former South Africa and India head coach Gary Kirsten had been linked with the function and Collingwood was additionally thought-about.

McCullum performed the final of his 101 checks at Christchurch in 2016 towards Australia, the place he hit the quickest ever century within the format (54 balls). He completed his profession with 6,453 runs together with 12 a whole lot and 31 half-centuries.

He might be tasked with working alongside newly-appointed check captain Ben Stokes to get England out of a hunch after the crew received solely certainly one of their final 17 matches, with Key describing the pairing as a “formidable coach and captain partnership”.

“In taking this role on, I am acutely aware of the significant challenges the team faces at present, and I strongly believe in my ability to help the team emerge as a stronger force once we’ve confronted them head-on,” McCullum mentioned.

“Ben Stokes is the perfect character to inspire change around him, and I look forward to working closely with him to build a successful unit around us.”