England captain Ben Stokes has backed head coach Brendon McCullum, saying he cannot imagine leading England’s Test team without him. England endured a tough Ashes campaign in Australia, losing the series 3-1, with several cricket pundits criticising McCullum for his ‘Bazball’ approach.
Stokes said he has enjoyed working with McCullum. “Look, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the time that I’ve worked with Brendon,” Stokes said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “I can’t see there being someone else who I could take this team [with], from where we are now, to even bigger heights.”
Reflecting on England’s recent form, Stokes said, “Because, being perfectly honest, you look back at how things have gone over the last, let’s say, year — the results and the consistency haven’t quite been there compared to the first two-and-a-half to three years that we were in charge. So, when you start seeing a trend and something that is not what you want, when you have that time off between series like we do after this — from January and I think June — it’s a long time for us to get things going again in the right direction.”
Stokes explained how he and McCullum use breaks to plan improvements. “So, for us as captain and coach, when we do have the time off, like we’ve done every single time between series, we put our heads together and go, ‘what is it that we think we need to do to go to the next level?’”
He also spoke about the pressure of touring Australia and the impact of constant attention. “I can’t sit and lie and say it’s been a walk in the park like some of the series feel,” he said. Stokes added, “Social media, media in general — it’s changed a lot and [it is] impossible not to see anything these days… The only way to do it is just throw your phone in the river.”
The fifth and final Ashes Test is scheduled to begin on January 4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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