England face daunting India series as McCullum ushers in new white-ball era
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This new job could be tougher than the one he already had with the need to focus on adding pace to the bowling attack. When named England’s Test coach in 2022, Brendon McCullum explained he didn’t want it easy. The white-ball job was a “cushy kind of gig” that wasn’t of interest, his pal Eoin Morgan having run that crew so well. World champions and clearing 400 with the bat, what could he change there? Reviving a long-form team burnt by the pandemic Ashes was actual work and therefore attractive to McCullum.
![[Taha Hashim]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/10/05/aha_Hashim,_L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
That he now must take pity on the white-ball setup tells us plenty. Five T20 internationals and three one-dayers in India mark McCullum’s full takeover of England men’s cricket, the tour a preface to next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan (and the United Arab Emirates should they play India).
![[England’s Jofra Archer]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3b11f8a5c40bdf1c28a295762f4e0b3269af3820/0_0_2627_1751/master/2627.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
This job could be tougher than the one he already had. The Test side McCullum took on had accrued one win in 17, but most of those matches came away from home. A pick up in results was always likely in his first summer, even if he went on to exceed expectations, and the conservatism of the Test team meant McCullum’s more enterprising imprint was always going to be seen quickly.
England have been a middling T20 side for the past two years and a poor 50-over one, their last series win in the format predating a dire World Cup defence in 2023. The answers to the decay do not feel entirely obvious, unlike when Morgan took control as captain a decade ago: it was clear then that they just needed to give it a whack. That’s the McCullum way, too, but power and aggression is not something the team lacks. In two ODI series losses last year, England remained the fastest run-scorers in the world, rattling along at more than six an over.
