Kiwi faces ludicrous schedule in charge of England’s senior men but his new role brings welcome certainty for players
At the end of this week’s final Test of the summer, against Sri Lanka at the Oval, Brendon McCullum will go home to a New Zealand for what is being called “a short break”. The calm before the storm. In the 25 months since his appointment as coach of England’s red-ball side – and while in that time England have played eight more Tests than anyone else – he has spent plenty of time there, striking a balance between time with his feet up at home and time with his feet up on Test ground balconies. All that is about to change.
England’s schedule, as both McCullum and Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, referred to in announcing the Kiwi’s new dual role, eases slightly next year from a situation that has slipped the wrong side of ludicrous: August is only just over, but the next time England go as long as 48 hours without having a senior squad on duty it will be Christmas week. Though 2025 will be calmer England will still play nine Tests, at least 20 ODIs (more if they perform well at the Champions Trophy) and a dozen T20s. They will visit India, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia and host West Indies, India and South Africa – and 2026 starts with the final two Ashes Tests, a six-game white-ball series in Sri Lanka and a T20 World Cup, all done and dusted by the first week of March. It would take extraordinary commitment for anyone to oversee it all.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/sep/03/cricket-brendon-mccullum-england-coach-white-ball-ben-stokes
Author : Simon Burnton
Publish date : 2024-09-03 17:27:44
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