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England head coach Brendon McCullum maintains that he is still the right person to guide England forward despite the team's poor performance in the ongoing Ashes series, but admits he is unsure if he will remain Test head coach next summer, as per ESPNcricinfo.
England lost the third Ashes Test by 82 runs, giving Australia a 3-0 lead and the Ashes within just 11 days. The defeat extended England's winless run in Australia to 18 matches, with only two draws, and has raised questions about the "Bazball" style that once gave them hope of an upset down under. After a strong start following McCullum's appointment at the beginning of the 2022 summer, England's results have declined. Since the start of 2024, they have lost 13 Tests compared to 12 wins, leaving McCullum and captain Ben Stokes with an overall record of 25 victories and 17 defeats from 44 matches. The recent Ashes loss also means England have failed to win a five-match series in all four attempts under their leadership. McCullum admitted he was uncertain about his future, but voiced his desire to continue what he described as "a pretty good gig". "I don't know. It's not really up to me, is it," McCullum said when asked whether he would be in charge of the Test side for the start of the 2026 English summer, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. McCullum said he will focus on doing his job, learning from mistakes, and making improvements, rather than worrying about his future. He said he enjoys coaching, travelling with the team, playing exciting cricket, and aims to get the best out of his players while achieving as much as possible. "I'll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that [we] haven't quite got right here and try to make some adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me. It's a pretty good gig. It's good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things ... For me, it's a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them," the former New Zealand cricketer said. McCullum said decisions about his future are for others to make, but he is enjoying coaching the team and believes they have improved since he took over. "Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I'm enjoying the time that I've got with these guys and I think we've made some progress from when I took over to where we are. We're not the finished article, but I think we've definitely improved as a cricket team. We've had an identity about us. Now's the time for us in the last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from it," McCullum said further. (ANI)
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