Category: England National Cricket

Brendon McCullum will have to adapt to a new environment as Test setup looks to move on from thrashing

In selecting Emilio Gay and James Rew for their Test squad to face New Zealand, England have in one sense been true to their word. The Ashes mea culpa included a promise to give more weight to domestic performances. Both men tick that box.

Yet as the team picks up the pieces after the 4-1 defeat in Australia, wounds licked and lessons learned, perhaps the question is whether they are staying true to themselves more broadly – or even, who actually are they these days?

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• Former Australia batter has worked at Durham since 2018

• New selector expected to have final say on squads

Marcus North, the former Australia middle order batter, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the new England men’s selector, with an official announcement expected in the coming days.

The 46-year-old has worked as director of cricket at Durham since 2018 and was among those interviewed for the equivalent role with England four years ago – only to miss out to Rob Key in the final stages of the process.

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Seamer has been given the cold shoulder since February 2024 but is back in the conversation this summer

Pop quiz: in the last five years, who is the only England seamer to have sent down 50 overs in a Test match more than once?

The answer, if the headline and picture haven’t given the game away, is a certain Ollie Robinson. Yep, the same seamer who has been overlooked by England since February 2024 on account of not being fit enough for the demands of the job.

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• Director of cricket Rob Key keen to ‘work together better’

• Arthur is former head coach of South Africa and Pakistan

Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa and Pakistan head coach, is one of four appointments to England’s new County Insight Group as the national team seeks to repair relations with the domestic game in the wake of last winter’s Ashes defeat.

Among the recommendations from the internal Ashes review that saw Rob Key and Brendon McCullum remain as director of cricket and men’s head coach respectively was improved dialogue with the county game, not least regarding selection.

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• Stokes: ‘Agreeing on every single thing, that’s impossible’

• Pair will ‘work together in a slightly different way’

Ben Stokes has moved to play down suggestions of a disagreement between himself and Brendon McCullum, insisting he and the England head coach remain aligned despite an Ashes defeat that, at times, suggested otherwise.

In a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday, the England Test captain stressed that he and McCullum agreeing with each other all the time would be “unhealthy”. They continue to share the same overall vision for the team, he added, but things will look “different” this summer.

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• Series defeat in Australia ‘a chance so blithely spurned’

• Indian dominance and Starc’s sacrifice recognised

The latest edition of Wisden is ­unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.

Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards. Haseeb Hameed, captain of title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five ­players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and ­Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.

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• County Championship kicks off on Good Friday

• ECB and Ben Stokes say England places are up for grabs

With more of a sparkle in its eye than for years, the County Championship shimmies into life on Good Friday, coat done up, gloves fastened.

After years of wrangling, the schedule has been settled (for now), and the three-year Kookaburra ball trial, which had seam bowlers weeping into their Weetabix, dumped, but there is still place for a regulatory tweak, and it’s a substantial one. This year, the England and Wales Cricket Board is trialling substitutes, allowing a player to be replaced by a fully playing sub, rather than just a covering fielder. And the terms of reference have broadened too: the system will cover sickness and significant life events – such as the birth of a child or a family illness – as well as injury.

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Not everyone in the county game is optimistic but players should start the season believing performances will be noticed by the England setup

Peter Moores could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at England’s backing for Brendon McCullum after four years as head coach and that bleak Australian winter. Moores was afforded barely three across his two spells in the job, neither of which included an Ashes series.

But as his Nottinghamshire side begin the defence of their County Championship title away at Somerset this Friday, Moores is keen to look forwards. During his Ashes mea culpa, the England team director, Rob Key, said he wanted better communication with the counties on selection – music to the ears of the leading domestic coach.

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Five-times Ashes winner has since had a varied coaching career and believes the red ball is still fundamental to the modern player

It’s a sunny spring afternoon, a new season looms, and just a short stroll down the road from Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club, Ian Bell is in his local stressing the importance of County Championship runs. One of the purest Test batters England has produced this century, Bell is also about to fly to the Indian Premier League for a spell of coaching.

Not that the two are necessarily a contradiction. Bell is excited to be joining Delhi Capitals as their new assistant coach before the IPL that starts on Saturday – a significant opportunity in his second career. But as much as T20 has transformed the sport, Bell insists that time batting against the red ball is still fundamental to the modern player.

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• England opener now faces three-year ban from IPL

• ‘My journey into Test team has come from county cricket’

Ben Duckett has pulled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League and now faces a three-year ban from the tournament after deciding he needs county cricket to shore up his place in England’s Test team.

The opener was signed by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction in December in a deal worth £200,000 and, with the competition starting on Saturday, he was due to miss the first two months of the English season.

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Anger remains after England’s heavy Ashes defeat and whatever happens next is on the ECB’s chiefs

Having endorsed Brendon McCullum’s continuation as men’s head coach after an Ashes defeat riddled with self‑owns and kept Rob Key above him as team director, the England and Wales Cricket Board could in one sense be viewed as having taken the path of least resistance.

McCullum’s contract runs to the end of 2027 and it would cost a pretty penny to cut him loose. The players enjoy the pair’s methods and tend to call the shots in the modern era. There may not be an all-format candidate for head coach out there. Besides, look over there: the Hundred returns in July, ready to overload your eyeballs with multicoloured content.

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• Batter denies the team ‘weren’t fussed’ in Australia

• 28-year-old believes his ‘best batting years are to come’

Ollie Pope has challenged the perception England “weren’t fussed” during their troubled Ashes tour but accepts why it formed.

Ben Stokes’ tourists crashed to a 4-1 series defeat by Australia that is being reviewed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, with tour planning, preparation, individual performances and behaviour all under scrutiny.

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• ‘No one cares about you,’ says Lancashire all-rounder

• The 32-year-old alleges England group is too cliquey

Liam Livingstone has given a scathing account of his handling by the current England regime, claiming “no one cares about you”. The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats but has not featured in more than a year and seems resigned to things staying that way.

In an interview with Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of interactions with the director of cricket, Rob Key, and described his time at the Champions Trophy last year as “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket” and said he did not miss being part of the recent T20 World Cup.

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England get over the line against a spirited Italy thanks to Will Jacks’ half century and miserly bowling from Sam Curran and Jamie Overton

Alistair Connor writes in and wants to know, “what’s the record of this Italian side against ... Scotland?”

Hmmm. Well, according to a quick Google search, they’ve played each other once with Scotland winning by 73 runs.

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England saw off a brave effort from Scotland as Tom Banton’s unbeaten 63 secured a five-wicket win in Kolkata

One brings two! Another lifter, another skyer, this time looping straight to deep square, where Phil Salt barely has to move.

Jofra strikes! He drops short and Munsey can only get a top edge, safely pouched by Banton running in from midwicket.

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