England batter Joe Root has backed head coach Brendon McCullum, praising his impact on the team and calling him one of the best coaches he has worked with. He also highlighted the positive influence McCullum has had on his own game.
England suffered a 4-1 defeat in the Ashes 2025–26, following which critics raised questions over McCullum’s future. Speaking after England’s second ODI win against Sri Lanka in Colombo as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, Root said, “I think Baz is one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with.”
Root acknowledged the disappointment of recent results but added, “Obviously we’re disappointed with the way things went out in Australia, but I still think there’s a lot more really exciting things to come from this group.”
Root also spoke about how McCullum has helped improve his own performances. He said, “If you look at my own personal game, the time that he’s been the coach, it’s improved tenfold.”
Since McCullum took charge in 2022, Root has enjoyed one of the best phases of his career, scoring 16 centuries in 46 Test matches.
Talking about the team environment under McCullum, Root said, “Obviously it’s more fun when you win. But I’m still having the best time of my life. I get to turn up and do the thing that I love every day with a great group of people, some brilliant minds and some experts that you can constantly keep improving and developing under.”
Root also praised young England captain Harry Brook and backed him as a future leader. He said, “I think it’s a natural feeling for anyone that’s made a mistake that you feel like you’ve let people down. Harry’s a great fella and he’s going to be an incredible captain. He clearly feels bad about what happened, but from my side of things, he’s got a job to do and I think he’s doing it exceptionally well.”
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz
