Brendon McCullum said he would “like to continue” as England’s head coach, but added that “tough conversations” were needed after a difficult winter with the Test team.
McCullum praised England’s toughness and white-ball captain Harry Brook’s “mental fortitude” despite Thursday’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India. Although they were chasing a massive 254 points for victory, they were caught up by just 7 points.
But reflecting on the entire winter, including the 4-1 drubbing by Australia in The Ashes, McCullum suggested there was a need to discuss the team’s style of play going forward.
McCullum told Sky Sports: “I think the white-ball team have been exceptional for a post-Ashes side, winning away in Sri Lanka and reaching this stage in the T20 World Cup.”
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T20 World Cup semi-final India vs England highlights
“I think we played some real cricket under Brook’s captaincy.
“The test in Australia was disappointing. We went in with high expectations but we couldn’t deliver. That’s where we have to look at where we need to improve.”
“Did we play the style of play we wanted against Australia or not? If we were honest with ourselves, we would probably say we couldn’t.
“That’s something we need to have a really hard conversation about: What is the stylistic direction that we want to stay consistent with?”
“I love this job. It’s a great job. Of course it’s not without its challenges, but that’s the nature of the job,” McCallum said.
Brendon McCullum says he wants to stay as England head coach
“I feel like we’ve achieved some really great things in the last few years, but we still have a lot to achieve as a team in all formats.
“I want to keep going, so we’ll see how it goes. Right now, after being on the road for quite some time, it’s just coming home, watching some fast horses, and playing some mind-blowing golf.”
“Take some time to reflect, let things sink in, and look objectively at what’s working and what’s not.
“Let’s see what happens. I want to help lead the team to the next stage.”
McCullum praises Brook’s ‘mental strength’ and England’s ‘toughness’
Brook, who was on a white-ball tour of New Zealand ahead of Australia’s Ashes, was punched by a nightclub bouncer while out drinking on the eve of the ODI in Wellington, and was later revealed to have falsely said he was alone that night after it was revealed Jacob Bethell and Josh Tan were in attendance.
Brook was fined £30,000 by the England and Wales Cricket Board and given a warning for his actions.
As England endured a harsh winter on and off the field, several England players also came under intense scrutiny for drinking during their tour of Australia.
However, after the agonizing semi-final defeat to India in the T20 World Cup, McCullum was full of praise for his captain.
“After a tough few months, it was great that Harry Brook had the mental strength to provide leadership throughout, galvanize the team and keep the team connected as much as it has been,” he said.
“He’s been well supported by young players such as Jacob Bethel, Tom Bunton, Sam Curran and four-time Player of the Match performer Will Jacks. There’s plenty of encouragement there.”
McCullum added: “I think it was a very good campaign (T20 World Cup).
“We found ourselves in some delicate situations, especially in the early games where we expected to win, there was a lot of pressure throughout and we needed to win well.
“There was a belief within the team, an ability to find a way to win.
“We have the belief that we want to win, but if we lose, we want to make it hard to lose, and I thought we did that tonight (in the semi-final loss to India).”
“I am incredibly proud that we were able to chase down over 250 men in such hostile territory with the full support of India, and that our players still believed and showed the toughness to win a game as close as we did.”
“Of course, the ultimate goal was to win a trophy, but you can’t always get what you want.”
Analysis: Should England’s management team stay?
Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussein’s verdict…
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Nasser Hussain doubles down on England’s decision-making and missed chances to win against Australia during Ashes series
“I think the first thing you have to do is lose Ash and give up everything. You fire the captain, you fire the coach and you start all over again and repeat the cycle. I never like that. We’ve been doing that for years and it hasn’t worked out.”
“But what I’m not too keen on is coming months later and forgetting how poor England were in the Ashes, how poor the planning was, how poor they were on and off the field and all the mistakes that were made.
“I don’t mind going to Australia and giving ourselves the best chance and losing, but England didn’t give themselves the best chance and made serious mistakes in their preparation and off-field decisions.
“So I can’t just say, ‘We’re so close to the T20 World Cup final, all is forgiven’ and move on. I’ll have to think about McCullum’s future.”
“McCallum and Brook work very closely together in white-ball cricket and it feels like they’re moving in the right direction, but McCullum told us he doesn’t think the Test side has played as well as it has in past years. “That suggests there was a disconnect in the Ashes, with some people wanting to go in one direction and some people wanting to go in another direction.
“I’m concerned that’s the case. Everyone has to be aligned. What stands out from the McCullum era is that everyone is moving in the right direction and the message from within the dressing room is very clear and the same. And that has to continue.”
“All the mistakes they made in The Ashes were right in the white-ball game. They went to Sri Lanka before the World Cup and played 50-over cricket and a T20 series and won both. They played in Palekele, where the two Super 8s matches were played.”
“They made the right decision, putting Will Jacks at No. 7, moving Brook up to No. 3, playing one game against New Zealand with Rehan Ahmed, and bringing back Sam Curran. Good decisions they didn’t make at The Ashes. That’s what disappointed me.”
“Brendon, Ben Stokes and Rob Key have made some very good and positive decisions in Test cricket and I was really looking forward to the Ashes. If they had stayed in that direction and made better decisions against an Australian team that was missing their best player of all time, especially in the bowling department (things could have been different). You can’t ignore that.”
“A meeting was held and they were disappointed in The Ashes so they need to sit down and talk about what happened there.”
The T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand from the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 1pm on Sunday (1.30pm first pitch).
