McCullum is very confident that Jos Buttler remains the man to lead England in white-ball cricket and hopes to make the captain less miserable as he steps up to coach the side. McCullum will take charge of all formats from early next year, adding the limited-overs role to the Test job he has held since 2022, with the New Zealander extending his contract until 2027.
The 42-year-old and red-ball skipper Ben Stokes have revitalised the Test team with their aggressive mindset and, from Thursday, England will look to clinch a 3-0 sweep of Sri Lanka, live on Sky Sports.
One of McCullum’s chief goals as white-ball boss is to help Buttler enjoy himself again, with England having lost both their 50-over and T20 World Cup titles during the last year and the skipper often cutting a sombre figure, particularly during the first-round exit in the 50-over edition in India in 2023.
Speaking at The Kia Oval on Wednesday, McCullum said: “I am very confident in Buttler as captain. What I want from Jos is for him to enjoy the next few 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.”
“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 edition in Australia in 2022] and 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.”
McCullum continued: “I will bring the positivity and style I like to operate with across all formats and I think it will give us a good chance of being successful. The white-ball side has been through a dynasty from when [Eoin Morgan] started it. They have won World Cups and some once-in-a-generation players have come through at the same time. Now a natural regeneration is required and that’s the bit that excites me.”
McCullum assumes Test captain Stokes is all in in terms of carrying on in that role until 2027 and says he made sure the all-rounder was at peace with him taking the white-ball role before he accepted the offer from England managing director of cricket Rob Key.
McCullum is also hopeful Stokes will play limited-overs cricket for his country again despite the 33-year-old – who is currently out of action with a hamstring injury – prioritising Test cricket of late as he recovers from surgery on a chronic left knee issue.
But he stressed that England will have to look after their multi-format players and that rotation will still be required despite the congested nature of the international calendar starting to ease.
On Stokes, McCullum said: In terms of white ball, why not? We will see where he sits. 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.
McCullum says the kinder schedule going forward has allowed England to now have one coach for all formats, with Key initially splitting the jobs when he took charge, handing McCullum the Test gig and Matthew Mott the reins in white-ball cricket.
However, he says there will still be scope for him to take a break and for members of his backroom staff to deputise as a head coach.
McCullum said: 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.