Brendan McCullum, the man who is credited with creating a whole new philosophy of playing Test cricket, has been handed over the white-ball coaching as well by the ECB. On the other side, Nathan Lyon, wants a 3-match Test series to decide the WTC winner. Let me pass my two cents about McCullum’s role and Lyon wanting a 3-match series.
McCullum has enjoyed stellar success since he took over as the coach of the England Test side. ECB have this habit of having two different coaches for red-ball and white-ball cricket. It makes sense because just like the all format players, a coach too would feel the pressure and will be exhausted if he is on the road constantly. By having separate coaches, it keeps them fresh which will only help the players. It is only England who used to go by this logic.
The other nations, including Australia, have always had one coach for all the formats. As for India, you cannot even think of having separate coaches because it is frowned upon. It is only now, the BCCI have atleast considered one captain for Tests and ODI and another for T20. Be that as it may, England have also decided to appoint one coach for all the formats.
Why the delay?
What I am not able to understand is that why did it took so long? Afterall, it has been a couple of years McCullum took over the Test coaching role. Since then, he has been a grand success. The term Bazball is added to the Oxford dictionary because of McCullum or rather McCullum’s approach. Ofcourse, England did not win two important series. The Ashes and in India. Yet, the ECB in their own wisdom decided to keep the appointment in abeyance. Anyway, now that he is the coach for all the formats, his task is really cut-out.
Eversince the retirement of Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball cricket has digressed a little bit. Ofcourse, they still won the T20 World Cup in Australia but the overall result hasn’t been that positive. Jos Buttler who took over from Morgan has found the going pretty tough. Matthew Mott did not have much idea to correct the downward flow. The ODI World Cup in India and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies were disastrous for England. Rightly, Mott was let go of. What the England team needs is a reset of their white-ball methods. The need to go back to the Morgan era and understand what worked for them. McCullum could be the perfect fit for turning the clock back by about 4 years.
As Ben Stokes speaks about the change inculcated by McCullum,
As Ben Stokes, his Test captain, said: “He is all about making everyone feel, in his words, 10 feet tall.”
He sees his role as being to challenge orthodoxies. Why should training sessions be compulsory? Why can’t a Test team score at five an over? Why should our opening batter have the same approach as all the other opening batters? More than anything, why does everyone take everything so seriously?
Nathan Lyon wants a 3-match series
At the end of the last WTC Finals, Rohit Sharma opined that the WTC Finals must be a 3-match affair rather than a one-off. His opposite number, Pat Cummins ridiculed Rohit by saying that eve Olympic medals are given based on one game. Now, his own teammate, has called for a 3 match series.
“One thing I would like to see, I’d like to see the World Test Championship Final potentially in a three-match series. That may become a little bit better because you potentially can lose a Test match in one session where [in a three-match series] it may allow teams to bounce back and show their dominance and win 3-0. We’re pretty time-poor anyway and that’s going to be a challenge but that’s one thing I would change.”
I think that it must be a one off game and only the toughest will survive.
Wrapping up McCullum’s role and Lyon
It remains to be seen whether McCullum will be able to revive English white-ball cricket. Going by the Tests, it is very much possible. Eoin Morgan once said that England would like to touch 500 in ODI. Under McCullum it may even happen.