It will be five months tomorrow that Brendon McCullum was appointed England’s new Head Coach in Test Cricket. Six wins out of McCullum’s first seven games has followed, with that solitary defeat coming against South Africa at Lord’s.
The first summer under the New Zealander’s leadership has brought forward a completely different mindset and turned around a dismal run of one win in seventeen under Chris Silverwood, after he was axed in the aftermath of the 4-0 defeat in the Winter Ashes down-under.
McCullum has so far worked his magic to perfection. He is not a genius; however, he has just done the right things. Instilling Jonny Bairstow to bat at five has yielded 681 runs at 75.6, including four hundreds. Bairstow has found himself in and out of the team for most of his Test career, in different batting positions throughout. McCullum wanted him to bat at five and it paid off massively before he suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle, following a slip while playing golf. That has ruled him out until at least the start of 2023.
Ben Stokes was named as Test captain following Joe Root’s decision to step down after the Test series in the West Indies due to it taking a mental toll on him. One of the first things Stokes did was state his desire for Ollie Pope to bat at three, a position he had never fulfilled before. Pope got a bit of advice from South Africa legend Hashim Amla, who told him “Batting at four is one ball away from batting number three.” The 24-year-old took that in his stride and managed 456 runs at 38, scoring three fifties and a hundred in the process. He has done more than enough to cement his place at number three for the foreseeable future.
Alex Lees will be sweating on his selection for the upcoming series in Pakistan, with Ben Duckett and Keaton Jennings pushing hard for Test recalls. Duckett was called into the squad for the last Test against South Africa, following Bairstow’s injury and Harry Brook’s debut. The 27-year-old scored 1012 runs at 72.29 in the County Championship in 2022 and boasts an impressive FC average of just above 40. He has batted mainly at three for Nottinghamshire this season but has opened the batting at Test level in the past. Jennings hasn’t played Test cricket since 2019 but scored 1233 runs in the CC this season at 72.53, with a high score of 318. He has had previous success against spin in his Test career, with both his hundreds coming against India and Sri Lanka.
Lees has performed better than he did in his first series as a Test cricketer, where he failed to pass 31 in six innings in the West Indies. However, his Test average stands at only 23.84 and could be axed for the Pakistan tour.
On the other hand, Zak Crawley has also struggled for form throughout the summer, averaging just 23 but finished off the South Africa series with an unbeaten 69 and the management clearly rate him very highly. Ben Foakes is a shoo-in for the Pakistan series, averaging 40 under McCullum and scoring his second Test hundred in the process.
The bowlers have generally been impressive regardless of who the coach is. James Anderson has showed little signs of slowing down as an international cricketer. The 40-year-old has taken 200 wickets in 53 matches since 2017, at an average of just 20.91.
Matty Potts debuted against New Zealand and snaffled 20 wickets at 28. He, perhaps unfortunately, lost his place to Sussex paceman Ollie Robinson towards the end of the summer, who took twelve wickets in his two outings of the summer. Robinson further established himself in the Test arena to record impressive career figures of 51 wickets in 11 Tests at 19.8. Stuart Broad looked to be back to his best, recording 29 wickets at 27.17 since McCullum’s appointment. Jack Leach also chipped in with 16 wickets, including twin five-wicket hauls against New Zealand at Headingley.
It has been a blistering start to life under McCullum, with a change of mindset largely appreciated following Chris Silverwood’s dismal reign. Strength in depth has been demonstrated, with Potts impressing in the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Olly Stone and Chris Woakes’ absence. The England hierarchy will be hopeful of getting that quartet fit to challenge England’s bowlers, who have all performed well. The batting has been impressing, with a huge increase in run rate and their best players producing their best form, which has been the catalyst for their six wins out of seven so far. Long may McCullum reign.
JG Writes 