England’s focus now switches to the challenge McCullum faces.
When taking on the white-ball role, he said his coaches would step up to lead when he needed time away, but evidence suggests this team cannot afford a half-in leader.
England’s next one-day internationals are against West Indies in May – sandwiched between a Test against Zimbabwe and the India series – before they play South Africa in September, by which time the Ashes will loom large.
The idea of England failing to qualify for the 2027 World Cup may seem extreme but only the top eight in the rankings – nine if South Africa are one of those – are guaranteed their spots. England are currently seventh with Afghanistan having closed in and Bangladesh and West Indies lurking below.
Continuing to take their white-ball side for granted could mean a qualification tournament alongside the likes of Nepal and Oman.
Buttler, Root, Wood and co are also the last generation of England cricketers who grew up on 50 (or 40)-over cricket. Given the lack of it played in England, the search for the next generation will continue to be educated guesswork.
And if Buttler is replaced, any supporter hoping it will bring in a change of approach is likely to be disappointed.
Three men have captained this side in the past year when Buttler has been injured – Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt, who are all disciples of the attacking approach.
Having ascended to be Buttler’s vice-captain in January after leading in his absence in five matches against Australia, Brook is the obvious next move.
During that 3-2 defeat by Australia, Brook said he wanted the team to play like McCullum’s Bazballing Test side and was also criticised for his “who cares” if you are caught on the boundary or in the in-field comment at Trent Bridge.
That was a misstep but he did well to recover in a promising first stint as captain, which included his only one-day international century to date.
Responsibility may be what Brook, a former England Under-19 captain, needs to turn his undeniable white-ball talents into match-winning performances because the current status quo is helping neither him nor the team.
Ten innings, 169 runs and an average of 16.90 in matches this year may not feel like the form of a captain-elect, but he remains the best option.
Brook’s ascension would bring issues in that he would not always be available because of his key role in the Test team. But it would also give England another option if Stokes’ body was to fail him down under, in addition to Ollie Pope who could be out of the XI by the time they reach Perth.
And there I go, relegating the white-ball team to a second-tier status. England got to the top of the white-ball world by prioritising it under Eoin Morgan, only to collapse when the Test side retook the focus when McCullum was first appointed.
It will take longer than one flight for Key to find a way to navigate English cricket’s longstanding problem.
Source link : https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/cp9yy25dg5yo
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Publish date : 2025-02-27 11:21:54
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The post England cricket: ‘Brendon McCullum’s problems go far beyond Jos Buttler’s future’ first appeared on PK Sports News.
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Author : pksportsnews
Publish date : 2025-02-28 04:26:52
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