Brendon McCullum has voiced his intention to get the best out of "miserable" Jos Buttler again, as key to turning around England's white-ball fortunes.
The newly appointed England white-ball head coach gave his first press conference since his red-ball role was expanded to encompass both teams ahead of England's final Test of the summer against Sri Lanka. McCullum will be charged with rebuilding England's white-ball unit, who were double World Champions less than two years ago.
Since then, they suffered a disastrous 50-over World Cup campaign in 2023 where they finished seventh in the table having won only three of their nine matches. They also lost heavily to India in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup earlier in the summer, after which Matthew Mott was dismissed a little over a month later. It was also rumoured that Buttler was at risk of losing his captaincy position during the leadership reboot, but has stayed on in the role under McCullum.
Buttler's own form has also been far less dependable than during England's white-ball heyday. He had a top score of 43 in the 2023 World Cup, that innings coming in England's opening game, and returned four single-digit scores. A pair of half-centuries in the West Indies' T20Is following the tournament kept the runs ticking over, as well as an 84 against Pakistan in May, but since then he has only passed 50 once, against the USA in the T20 World Cup. He will also miss England's T20I series against Australia, which starts next week, having aggravated a calf injury while training for Lancashire's Blast quarter-final. Phil Salt will captain England in his absence. Buttler is also a doubt for the following ODI series.
🗣️ "I'm mildly surprised that he's taken it [the job], but it's a good thing that he has."@Phil_Wisden and @Yas_Wisden react to Brendon McCullum's appointment as England men's new white-ball head coach, alongside his role with the Test side.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 5, 2024
Do you agree with the decision? 🏴 pic.twitter.com/tGeQlKSCd9
"He's been a bit miserable at times," said McCullum. "I think he's not naturally as expressive as what some may be. But I think he's done a great job, right? He won a T20 World Cup as captain. He's been part of World Cup-winning teams previously as well. He's an incredibly gifted player. He's a fine leader.
"My job is to get the best out of him so that all those that sit in the dressing room feel like they can be 10 foot tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play. And they know that the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and enjoy the ride with them. So it's a great challenge. I'm so excited about it, and I know that Jos is too, which is great.
McCullum is tasked with being the architect of a similar transformation to the one he inspired in England's Test side. His bond with Ben Stokes has grown into an unbreakable partnership which underpins their unwavering front-foot approach to the game. Buttler has previously voiced his admiration for McCullum as a player, but has never crossed paths with him in the franchise world as either a teammate or coach.
"When I started the gig with the Test side, Stokesy and I knew each other - we had a natural respect for each other - but I wouldn't say we were mates," said McCullum. "What we've developed over the last couple of years is a very close friendship, to the point where I call him a very close mate. As much as you do this for cricketing reasons, ultimately you want good friendships and relationships to develop that last far longer than the time you've got in the job.
"Jos and I actually start from a stronger base. We know each other, we're mates, we have similar styles of play in our game. What I want from Jos is for him to enjoy the next few years. If he was to retire today, he's go down as probably the greatest white-ball player England's ever produced."
McCullum also spoke about Stokes's future in the white-ball format. After reversing his ODI retirement to play in the 2023 World Cup, Stokes made himself unavailable for the 2024 T20 World Cup and has given no formal statement on his white-ball future. There is also no clarification over whether he will be available for next year's Champions Trophy in February, as England's Test commitments take up his time.
"In regards to white-ball - yeah, why not? I guess we'll see where he sits," said McCullum. "He loves big moments and big stages. As we'll have to do with all our players, there will be times when they can't play everything, so there will be some bilateral series where we simply can't have all of our best players playing at the same time. But when it comes to major events and big series, I think those players are very much in those discussions."
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