McCullum concentrating on his side playing one match at a time as England prepare to face New Zealand on ThursdayIt was an accomplished first outing for Brendon McCullum, the new England Test head coach. Decked out in an official training top, skinny trousers and white trainers (no socks, naturally), a little bleary-eyed after the 12,000-mile journey from Dunedin, the former New Zealand captain rocked up at sunny Lord’s on Friday morning looking as relaxed as the team environment he intends to create.Over the course of an hour speaking to various outlets – including a couple of European correspondents from back home – the 40-year-old espoused the philosophy which attracted Rob Key, director of men’s cricket, to hire a head coach...
Key is betting on McCullum to work his magic as he did with New Zealand, but it will need more than that to fix Test teamThere are plenty of people who say they can tell you what makes the All Blacks great. New Zealand’s rugby team support a cottage industry of articles, books, seminars and podcasts explaining their success. Exactly how their cricket side got to be the best in the world, though, when they have a smaller budget and player base than almost any other Test-playing nation, is a harder question to answer.Not least because so many of the people who were involved along the way seem so reluctant to talk about it at any length. So the England...
If he cannot prove he is no longer the man who engaged in ‘foul sexism’ on a WhatsApp group, how does he represent all of us?The rules of “Stat Chat” were simple enough. The game would begin the night after Joe Clarke returned from England Lions duty in the United Arab Emirates. “Got to be freshies,” Alex Hepburn wrote in their shared WhatsApp group, meaning women they had not slept with before. “Names, age, black or white, your rating, their rating.”“No reheats allowed,” Clarke confirmed, meaning women they had slept with before. Continue reading...
New Zealander is impressive and his appointment as head coach may prove to be an inspired decision – but it is extraordinary, given that he has not done a lot of coachingHaving rolled the dice on an untested director of cricket in Rob Key, the England and Wales Cricket Board has kept gambling. Ben Stokes has had only one first-class game as captain but he is a very popular and highly regarded player and has already shown encouraging confidence in his leadership and his decision‑making.He can be an excellent leader for the England Test team, but my instinct was that he would benefit from having an experienced coach beside him, someone who could make sure the weight of his job...
Being cool and knowing the right people seems to trump qualifications or experience in the ECB’s brave new worldBlessed are the Blokes, for they shall inherit the earth. There has been a steady evolution in the governing class of English cricket. For many decades the sport was ruled by the Blazers. The Blazers were faceless. They smelt of crusted port and Chesterfield sofas. They ruled the committee room with an iron liver-spotted fist. Over time they staked out the summer sport as their own private fiefdom.The Blazers were eventually flushed out by the Marketing Men. The Marketing Men were rainmakers and deal-brokers. They didn’t wear blazers. They wore ties and suits. They knew about revenue streams. They made deals and...