Very confident about skipper Buttler, want him to enjoy next few years, says McCullum

New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) Brendon McCullum said he is very confident about Jos Buttler continuing as England’s white-ball captain and wants the wicketkeeper-batter to enjoy playing the next few years.

Following two years of coaching the Test team, McCullum will start coaching England’s white-ball team from next year, with his all-format contract extended to 2027. His big challenge as white-ball head coach will be to get England back to winning major championships after failing to defend T20 and ODI World Cup titles in 12 months.

“I am very confident in Buttler as captain. What I want from Jos is for him to enjoy the next three to four years. If he retired tomorrow he would probably go down as the greatest white-ball player England have produced so there is a chance for however long he plays to not protect anything and play with a smile on his face. My job is to push him towards that,” said McCullum to reporters ahead of England’s third Test against Sri Lanka starting at The Oval on Friday.

“He has been a little bit miserable at times, he is not naturally as expressive as some, but he has done a great job. He has won a World Cup as captain (the T20 title in Australia in 2022) and has been part of World Cup-winning teams previously. He is a gifted player and a fine leader.”

“My job is to get the best out of him so players in the dressing room feel bulletproof and 10 feet tall and know the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and enjoy the ride with them,” he said.

McCullum also said Test captain Ben Stokes is fine with him extending his tenure till 2027 and added he’s keen to see if the all-rounder can further his white-ball career. Stokes had retired from ODIs, but played the 2023 World Cup in India and sat out of this year’s T20 World Cup to focus on red-ball cricket.

“The skipper and I haven’t spoken about that actually but I’m assuming he’s all in. He seems to like that sort of bloke. He’s been incredible and our relationship is fantastic. You never know where the game’s going globally and what sort of opportunities will pop up for him which will challenge him.”

“But I know how invested he is in English cricket and how determined he is to drive this team forward. I would assume that will involve him being in charge for that period of time. In terms of white ball, why not? We will see where he sits,” he said.

“He loves big moments and big stages (but) our players can’t play everything. There will be some bilateral series where we can’t have all our best players at the same time but when it comes to major events and big series those players are very much in discussions. Ben loves big moments and big stages.”

McCullum felt with the schedule easing out, he could manage to coach England across all formats but hinted at taking breaks in between. For the white-ball games against Australia, Marcus Trescothick will be serving as interim head coach.

“I don’t see it being a problem. There may be times when it’s tested, but that’s the exciting part. As a player, I had a pretty good ability to be able to turn the page, because I was very inconsistent. I needed to turn the page quickly. It is going to be an added workload, that’s for sure, but I didn’t take a whole lot of persuading.”

“I looked at the opportunity and thought, ‘What a chance to have a good crack’. At times you may be tested but that’s the exciting part of doing jobs like this, but some bets are worth it, right? You are put under pressure at times, and your methods and vision are challenged, so it’s about remaining firm and getting players to excel.”

“Over the last two years, it would have been nigh on impossible for someone to do all three formats but with the schedule easing enough it gives you the ability to have one person in the role. There will be times where we have to be smart with stepping support staff in and out and that will include myself, but I don’t see that as a problem.”

“It will give other coaches a chance to step up in a head coach capacity, just like (Marcus Trescothick) is doing (against Australia this month and West Indies in the autumn). When I leave in three and a half years, you want the next group of coaches or those you have brought along to be viable head coach candidates,” he added.

–IANS

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