A new era: Brendon McCullum will try to bring identity and sharpening to England’s Test team

Englandnew test coach Brendon McCullumThe stock has risen so much in eight years that one would assume he has always been this overconfident, calm, courageous, stubborn leader. He was not. It is this personal change that gives England fans more hope for a revival; That there is someone here who is familiar with the weaknesses of the players and knows what needs to be done to turn things around.

The way he has coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, two influences can be expected from the England players: no insecurities and no sense of identity.

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Given that England’s Test team has lacked both security and recognition in recent times – Stuart Broad and James Anderson agreed they were dropped without proper communication – the arrival of McCullum, the charisma of Ben Stokes combined with, Will be a breath of fresh air. Can McCullum make it through the long run, as he rides the ups and downs and flailing in the fortunes of a Test team, which will make his stint interesting to track.

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But first, a story about vulnerability. On a Durban evening in 2009, when he was captain of KKR, McCullum walked away from the dugout, disappointed after the defeat. His coach John Buchanan would jump out of the shadows, and in a strange gesture of consolation would throw his hands over the shoulder.

Moments later, a depressed McCullum, looking like a lost puppy, would tell the press pack that he wanted to step down as captain. “I have found it difficult to convey the message to the team without individual performances,” he would say.

Six years later, on the evening before the 2015 ODI World Cup final in Melbourne, Buchanan looked back on the moment. “When things weren’t going his way, he wanted to walk away. I told him it wasn’t the best thing to do, neither for himself nor for the team. I think he wanted to hear that from me.” It was,” Buchanan told this newspaper.

“McCullum is a passionate and passionate person. He’s a real competitor, a cheeky kind of guy. Now I think he has learned to control his emotions and use them to his advantage,” Buchanan had identified as triggers for positive change. “He has been very aggressive as a captain.”

McCullum’s greatest achievement was not about batting fearlessly at the top or even keeping his attacking areas or taking wickets in ODIs, often dismissing his strike bowlers within 30 overs. An even greater achievement was that he convinced his team of that philosophy. He didn’t need to draw them to his sight.

During that 2015 World Cup, on the sidelines of the New Zealand tourism event, former captain Stephen Fleming thought of McCullum’s best feature. “Look, it’s one thing to put three or four slips in an ODI – it takes courage – but to convince your whole team that it’s the way to go is an entirely different matter.”

garner respect

By all accounts, McCullum appears to be a brilliant motivational leader. Once, when he was with KKR, Dinesh Karthik Said about McCullum in a chat Ravichandran AshwinYouTube channel of.

“He was a revolutionary captain. In every generation there will be some cricketers who change the game. I think he changed the way he played the game… Playing with a smile. His greatest leadership is any international cricket.” The team had noticed.”

He said, ‘His style of playing was very different. He will eliminate the strike bowlers within 30 overs. Trent Boult will be out. He changed the game. And when you hear him speak, it is fantastic,” says Kartik.

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“When the horses turn around the last turn and they all kind of fan out, at that point, you’re not sure[what’s going to happen]but there is a chance, there is hope. You bought the pedigree paper, you put your hand up and bought. Then you prepare for three or four years. Lets… The only time I’ve seen outside of cricket is in horse racing.”

Last year, in a New Zealand-based series Beyond the Winning Post, McCullum opened up on his other passion: horses. Such was his passion that he left city life and moved to a small town named Matamata to start a farm.

At that show, he leads the host around his 10-acre farm, shows some of his 10-15 horses, and talks about them lovingly and passionately. One was a 10-year-old horse from Australia, a famous racing horse that was once sold for a million dollars, he says, and was injured and was available for $6000 when he bought it.

He tells the story of growing up near a horse racing track in Dunedin, which instilled in him a love for good breed. “I wasn’t on hand, more about being a punt.” He made some money and then thought “would be part of a horse race and he won some races”.

Later, a co-passenger on a plane sees him read the horse’s results and casually tells him that he should visit his brother, Mark Chitick, who owns the Waikato Stud—and McCullum will gallop into the horse world.

About 10 years ago, McCullum had more ambitious plans for his horses. He had started a firm Vernier, and wanted to form a racing syndicate around the world. He did not proceed as he had planned, but his horses are still running, he says, in the country. Along with Fleming, he was also involved in the New Zealand meat and wine business, bringing them to the Indian market.

new challenge

For some time now, his life has been about horses and some T20 coaching. But now, it will take a huge leap as England has invested in it to grow their Test team. With Rob Key as director of cricket and McCullum’s left field options as coach, England are moving towards men who can make them courageous, infuse fresh ideas and character.

The story of how things turned for McCullum in a Test match in 2013 in which he was dismissed for 45 is well documented. An evening of introspection with coach Mike Hesson, who is currently the coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, led him to conclude that the team was seen as “arrogant, emotional, distant, ourselves and not interested in our followers.” “

“We concluded that, individually and collectively, we lacked character. The key to all of us was that the team had no ‘soul.’ Cowdrey Memorial Lecture.

The England establishment clearly feel their Test team ‘collectively lacks character’. If McCullum can instill in them a sense of identity, and His partner Stokes, born in New Zealand Make sure it flows systematically through their game, their job will be done.