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New Zealand gave a crushing defeat to England. The Kiwis won the match by 160 runs after the Three Lions failed to chase the target of 373 and were bowled out for 212 at Trent Bridge on Monday. After the heavy defeat, former cricketers and experts have raised questions on the coaching future of Brendon McCullum.
After the defeat, Brendon McCullum has spoken openly about his future. He believes that despite his role as Test coach coming under doubt following the shock retirement of Ben Stokes, “his commitment to English cricket has never wavered”.
“Want to continue” – Brendon McCullum on his future
Brendon McCullum says that he is clear about his future and he also has full faith in his coaching system and the future of the team. He still has an ECB contract which extends until the end of the 2027 Ashes. The Kiwi head coach got an extension till September 2024 to cover both red and white-ball cricket.
“My enthusiasm for English cricket and my commitment to English cricket has never waned,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “I have a strong belief in the direction this team can go.”
“We still have an identity, but we want to continue that and harness that, to give us a direction on who we are, the team we want to be, and what we want to represent for the people of this country.”
This was England’s first three-Test series at home since 2012, so their focus will immediately turn to the upcoming five-match T20I series against India, scheduled to take place in Durham on Wednesday.
“A talented cricket team” – Brendon McCullum on England team
However, despite losing seven of the last nine Test matches dating back to the Oval Test against India in August last year, Brendon McCullum still has energy for the role of head coach.
The England head coach also criticized the entire team after consecutive defeats. He believes that Ben Stokes’ suspension in the second Test match affected the team’s mentality and they completely outclassed their opponents in the third Test match.
“A more well-rounded cricket team rather than just a talented cricket team”, but ignored their consecutive defeats at the Oval and Trent Bridge. Following the suspensions of Stokes and Gus Atkinson for apparent breaches of team protocol, he said, “It was tough for a number of reasons”. The latter was a case of “being beaten in a tough contest by a good New Zealand team”.
“The talent in this country is immense,” McCullum said. “We just need to make sure we continue to provide that opportunity, but still get results.”
“You can’t do anything about the schedule” – Brendon McCullum on India vs England series
Brendon McCullum also said that there is no option but to play in a busy schedule as he believes England have a strong enough team to play in the white-ball series.
“You can’t do anything about the schedule, it is what it is,” McCollum said. “You just have to work around it, and the good thing is we have some good strong options in our team.
“We’ll look at Durham in two days’ time, and we’ll look at the workload of some of our boys in this Test, and you’ll figure out what the right balance is, and how do you strike it? When we get to Durham, we’ll make our plans, and we’ll wait for the Indian series to start.”
