‘Don’t doubt his credentials but going to be a big challenge’: Atherton on McCullum’s appointment as England’s white ball coach

London [UK], September 4 (ANI): After Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach of England’s white-ball teams in addition to the Test team, former England cricketer Michael Atherton said that it will be a big challenge for the ex-New Zealand skipper.

Earlier on Tuesday, the England Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Test head coach Brendon McCullum will also serve as the head coach of England’s white-ball teams “as part of a strategic restructure” for the Three Lions senior set-up.

McCullum has been sitting at the helm of England’s Test team since May 2022. He has extended his contract, which will run until the end of 2027. Under his new contract, McCullum will assume leadership of both the Test and white-ball teams starting January 2025, coinciding with England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy next year.

Under his helm, English Test side made a strong revival, redefining the batting style in tests. The aggressive approach that helped England win some great matches and series. This new style of cricket under Stokes- and McCullum has been named ‘Bazball’.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Atherton said, “When England went to New Zealand for a Test tour last time and the series finished, there was a white-ball series in Bangladesh the next day. Now, in his appointment, he makes the point that the schedule has eased a bit from 2025. There aren’t those crossovers that there were, but I still think it is going to be a big challenge.”

Atherton added that he doesn’t doubt McCullum’s credentials but it will be an added responsibility for the head coach.

“I don’t doubt McCullum’s credentials at all, but the challenge will be just the extra responsibility, the extra time that it takes to plan and prepare and get a one-day team ready to play,” he added.

“That’s how India have done it. They’ve had one man doing both, Rahul Dravid, until recently, but others have stepped in from time to time to give the head coach a break. When McCullum took the Test job, he said he thought the one-day job was a bit of a cushy role because that was going so well under Eoin Morgan and the Test team was more of a challenge, and that’s almost flipped now,” he further added.

After England’s ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka concludes at the Kia Oval next week, McCullum will take a short break at home in New Zealand. He will link up with the Test team for their winter tours of Pakistan in October and the three-match Test series against New Zealand in December.