Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 20 (ANI): England head coach Brendon McCullum, who will kickstart his tenure as the team’s white-ball coach with the first T20I against India from Wednesday onwards, said that the team will prioritise both entertainment and success while adding that the best years of skipper Jos Buttler are “yet to come”.
England will kickstart a new era in white-ball cricket after ODI and T20 World Cup debacles, when Test head coach McCullum takes the rein of both white-ball teams starting from the first T20I against India at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of the match as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, McCullum said, “Obviously, we want to win every game we play, to try and be successful, and that is ultimately the mission for us. But our conversations and the language which we use within the dressing rooms is quite different.”
“It is about trying to get the best out of the talent that sits within the dressing room, trying to gel the guys as best we can, trying to work out complementary skills, and how we play the style of cricket that gives us our greatest chance.”
“I am desperate for us to play a really watchable brand of cricket. With the talent we have, there is no reason why we cannot. We have got a batting line-up which is as powerful as any batting line-up in the world. We have got gun spinners, very good fielders and guys who bowl absolute rockets with the ball, so you have got options there to be able to entertain and give yourself the greatest chance of success,” he concluded.
On skipper Buttler, McCullum said that he is “smiling” and “very happy” as of now. The head coach said that his relationship with Buttler, formed during his playing days in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has enabled them to work better as a captain-coach duo. McCullum shed light on their “really tight personal relationship” and added that the explosive right-hander would be ditching his wicketkeeping gloves, handing them to Phil Salt.
“Obviously we have known for a couple of months that this was going to unfold, so there is been plenty of time to chat to Jos over the last couple of months. When I took over the Test job, Stokesy and I knew each other and there was a mutual respect, but would not say we were friends necessarily, even though it is now a really tight personal relationship, as well as a working relationship,” said McCullum.
“With Jos, we actually start from a slightly stronger base. Jos and I have been friends for a long time, we have often shared some of the philosophies of game, and that friendship gives us really good base to be able to be able to get things going pretty quickly with this team.”
“He is in really good space. He is excited about the team, and the opportunity that sits in front of us, I am sure we will see Jos really enjoy himself over the next couple of years, and hopefully finish with a real strong enjoyment for the game at the back end of his career,” he concluded.
Speaking about Buttler giving the keeping duties to Salt, who also kept wickets during the West Indies series last November, McCulum said that it gives a chance to Buttler to have the “last say” with the bowler.
At the age of 34, with two World Cup titles, one each in 50-over and 20-over format, latter as a captain, over 8,400 runs, Buttler has very little to add to his credentials as a modern-day white-ball great for England and the game in general.
Having experienced considerable success with Test skipper Ben Stokes, McCullum feels there is a scope to replicate the same success with Buttler, saying, ” I think his best years are definitely ahead. Sometimes, when you get the opportunity to lead in the latter part of your career, you can be a little bit desperate for success and that can create frustrations, and it does not become quite as enjoyable.”
“But if you can let yourself go a little bit, with nothing to prove other than trying to get the best out of those around you, sometimes that can lift your game up a bit more. Those are the conversations Jos and I have had. He is fully on board with that, he is excited about the next little while, and I am sure you will see him smiling.”
McCullum also acknowledged that the India tour, consisting of five T20Is and three ODIs, is going to be a tough one.
“I am sure we will play what I hope is a very watchable style of cricket. I am sure there will be some times we do not quite get it right but, hopefully, we will chisel away at that over the next few weeks and be in good shape come the Champions Trophy. But we are very much focused on this series, knowing India is a very good cricket team, particularly in their own conditions,” he concluded. (ANI)
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