England red-ball captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes revealed that he had great chemistry with Brendon McCullum and they used to be on the same page on many occasions. However, he revealed that it is hard for him to always be on the same page.
England had appointed Brendon McCullum as their red-ball coach to stage a massive comeback. However, after losing several matches, they bounced back with the duo of McCullum and Stokes working wonders for the Three Lions.
After a dreadful season in 2025-26, when England suffered consecutive defeats in the longest format of the game, including a humiliating loss to the Australians in the Ashes, the ECB had threatened to disband the dynamic coach-captain duo.
Ben Stokes reveals his equation with Brendon McCullum
Ben Stokes shares a wonderful bond with the former NZ batsman, whose buzzball strategies seemed ideal for someone like Stokes, who has always favored a more modern approach to one of the oldest formats of the game.
However, due to recent disagreements, the two have not always been on the same page. The English captain has revealed that his relationship with McCullum has never been bad, but it is impossible to always agree on every note.
Ben Stokes said, “To say we weren’t in alliance is, I think, too much of an exaggeration. When you’re in a leadership position with someone else, if someone thinks you’re always going to agree on everything, that’s impossible. And to me, that’s not a healthy relationship.”
You need to argue; You need discussion, not argument – Stokes’ views on captain-coach relationship
The English captain also stressed on the fact that cricketers need to object to things they do not comply with and things they agree on; In this way an ideal environment is created for the game.
“It’s a healthy environment, especially for sports, where everyone agrees with everyone else, or everyone just says yes to, you know, the person in there. You need to debate; you don’t need to argue, but you need to have discussion, and then you get to a place where both want to end up.
“Similar to Brandon and I, we differ in other areas as well, but the thing we both want is to be successful, and we probably decide how we’re going to be successful. It may be the same here, but a little different, but through these discussions we’ll always be able to end up on the same page,” Stokes added.
Ben Stokes reveals how he sorted things out with McCullum
Stokes revealed how he and McCullum were on the same page during most of their team meetings or strategic calls, but sometimes when they were not, they would talk it out in discussions and reach a common approach.
Ben Stokes claimed, “95% of the time we agree on things, but 5% of the time, maybe we disagree, because we may have different views on certain things, and then after discussion, we get to a place where my character and Brendan’s character, we put them together, and then we get to where we want to get to.”
He added, “But you know, it was impossible to agree on everything. So you know, to say that we were not united is, I think, a huge exaggeration.”
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