All posts tagged: brendon mccullum

Vaughan on Stephen Fleming taking England job

Vaughan on Stephen Fleming taking England job

Published by Webster

4 min readJul 31, 2026 04:11 PM IST Former England captain Michael Vaughan has backed Stephen Fleming’s appointment as the men’s team Test coach, but added that he may not have a captain like MS Dhoni to work with in the setup. Fleming, who was appointed the Test coach on Thursday, formed a successful coach-captain partnership with Dhoni and helped Chennai Super Kings win five IPL titles and two Champions League titles over 17 years. “We’re in a bit of a mess, but I’m sure Fleming will get it right. I’m sure he’ll get the team performing,” Vaughan wrote in his Telegraph column. “Fleming is very well respected, renowned for being a very good manager and tactician. I’ve seen him at the IPL and one of the problems he might discover in English cricket is that we do not have an MS Dhoni to be his captain. Dhoni ran the ship at CSK (Chennai Super Kings), and Fleming had some really good backroom coaches as well. Eric Simons was a wonderful bowling coach for him, …

Stephen Fleming to be appointed England’s Test coach | Cricket News

Stephen Fleming to be appointed England’s Test coach | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 30, 2026 09:38 AM IST Former Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming is in line to become the next England Test coach, according to reports in British media. Fleming recently stepped down as the coach of Indian Premier League franchise CSK — besides the Chennai team’s subsidiaries Joburg Super Kings in South Africa’s SA20 and Texas Super Kings in America’s Major League Cricket — after CSK ended 8th in the recent IPL.  According to a report in the Guardian, Fleming impressed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a series of interviews over the past two weeks. Should the 53-year-old be handed the coaching reins, he will join predecessor, compatriot, and former teammate Brendon McCullum, who remains in charge of England’s white-ball teams. The Guardian report added that while Fleming is likely to be in place for the tour of South Africa in December, an interim coach, probably Marcus Trescothick, could assume control of the side for the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan from August 19. Fleming joined CSK as a …

Steve Harmison Calls for Brendon McCullum’s Exit After Ben Stokes’ Retirement

Steve Harmison Calls for Brendon McCullum’s Exit After Ben Stokes’ Retirement

Published by Webster

The 47-year old Steve Harmison has called for England head coach Brendon McCullum to quit after Ben Stokes’ retirement announcement. Harmison was not a fan of Bazball cricket that McCullum introduced during his head coach stint with England cricket. Despite some initial success, the bazball cricket has been considered a failure in recent times. They suffered a 4-1 defeat in the Ashes and a 2-2 draw against India. They are also in verge of suffering a defeat in the final test of the New Zealand tour of England 2026. Three Lions will be needing 270 runs on the final day of the decider test at Nottingham. According to Steve Harmison, the duo was taking the England cricket team forward, and if Stokes is not there, the New Zealand team should also quit. Addressing the topic, Steve Harmison said, “McCullum has got to go with him. And that’s it. If we’re gonna go through that conversation, McCullum’s got to go with him. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Brendon McCullum as a person, but …

‘McCullum got to go with Stokes’: Former Ashes winner uses strong words and wants New Zealander out of England set-up

‘McCullum got to go with Stokes’: Former Ashes winner uses strong words and wants New Zealander out of England set-up

Published by Parlour News

Former England fast bowler and Ashes winner Steve Harmison wants head coach Brendon McCullum to quit too in the wake of the international retirement of Ben Stokes on Sunday, during day four of the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum shared a great bond. (AFP) The 47-year-old, who played 63 Tests for England and took 226 wickets, is not happy with the Bazball cricket that McCullum has introduced in English cricket since taking over as a coach. After some initial success, it has floundered big time in recent months. They lost the Ashes 4-1 and, before they drew 2-2 at home against India. The ongoing series… they might end up losing too. They need 270 more to win with just six wickets in hand on the last day. Also Read: I believe Ben Stokes was pushed to the wall and he finally decided to break himself free of the shackles Harmison appears to be of the opinion that they were a partnership to take English cricket forward, and …

England hoping Jofra Archer is available for 2nd Test vs NZ, says Brendon McCullum

England hoping Jofra Archer is available for 2nd Test vs NZ, says Brendon McCullum

Published by Webster

3 min readJun 8, 2026 10:23 PM IST England head coach Brendon McCullum is hopeful of ace fast bowler Jofra Archer being available to play for their second Test against New Zealand at The Oval, having missed the first due to the quick turnover after the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). Archer’s decision to skip the first Test due to playing in the IPL was a topic of much controversy. “We are hopeful he will be available for the second Test. Then we will work out conditions-wise where we are at,” McCullum told reporters after England won the first test by 115 runs. “He is following a plan and we completely trust Jof. He has shown in the past that he gets himself ready based on the plans we get together and come up with. He has always turned up in the condition we want from him.” In Archer’s absence, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue combined to take 19 wickets in England’s low-scoring win at Lord’s on Sunday, and McCullum indicated Archer would …

RCB to play 100th match at Chinnaswamy, first team to achieve home ground feat

RCB to play 100th match at Chinnaswamy, first team to achieve home ground feat

Published by Webster

2 min readApr 18, 2026 11:53 AM IST Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday will become the first IPL team to play 100 matches on their home ground. RCB’s landmark appearance at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will be played against Delhi Capitals in a an afternoon fixture on the day the tournament turns 19 years old. RCB were involved in the first-ever IPL match on April 18, 2008, at the iconic Bengaluru venue, taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders. The opening night of the tournament was written into history by a swashbuckling knock by Brendon McCullum. Batting first, KKR blew away RCB on the back of McCullum’s historic 158 not out, comprising 10 fours and 13 sixes as the visitors put on 222 for three. In reply, a line-up that comprised legends Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and a young Virat Kohli was blown away by 140 runs, bundled out in 14.1 overs. The 82 all out in the IPL’s opening night at Chinnaswamy remains as RCB’s lowest-ever score on their home ground. Their highest …

Former England captains Atherton, Hussain & Boycott blast ECB over lack of Ashes accountability

Former England captains Atherton, Hussain & Boycott blast ECB over lack of Ashes accountability

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 25, 2026 11:47 PM IST The England Cricket Board (ECB) continues to find itself at the receiving end of criticism after handing a clean chit to head coach Brendon McCullum, following a disastrous Ashes series in which England lost 4–1 in emphatic fashion during the five-match Test tour of Australia last summer. ECB chief executive Richard Gould recently confirmed that the positions of captain Ben Stokes, managing director Rob Key, and McCullum are safe following a thorough review conducted by the board. Former England captain Michael Atherton expressed surprise at the decision. He believes fans will find it “extraordinary” that no jobs were lost for the “mistakes” made during the Ashes defeat. “From the perspective of people out there, they will find it extraordinary that there’s been no accountability for the mistakes made in the Ashes,” Atherton said while speaking to Key on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast. “It’s not necessarily bloodlust people want, but I think they want genuine accountability. If there’s no change to key personnel, they will argue, ‘Well, …

Why Michael Vaughan is ‘staggered’ that England head coach Brendon McCullum arrives in country just 5 days before 1st NZ Test on June 4 | Cricket News

Why Michael Vaughan is ‘staggered’ that England head coach Brendon McCullum arrives in country just 5 days before 1st NZ Test on June 4 | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 04:50 PM IST Former England skipper Michael Vaughan said that post the heavy defeat to Australia in the Ashes, he found it staggering that head coach Brendon McCullum wasn’t in the country already in order to watch county cricket and scout talents from there in preparation for the New Zealand test series, set to start in June. “Now we are told there will be a greater emphasis on attention to detail. If that is the case, then Brendon should be here early this summer watching county cricket and meeting people face-to-face to rebuild bridges because a lot of people in the county system were more than happy to see England get royally beaten in Australia and that cannot be right,” Vaughan wrote for his column in The Telegraph. “McCullum is the highest-paid international coach in the world so expecting him to arrive in England earlier than five days before the first Test is surely the bare minimum. Instead he is having a Zoom call with the county directors of …

‘Bazball as was’ is over, says Mike Atherton

‘Bazball as was’ is over, says Mike Atherton

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 24, 2026 01:28 PM IST The original Bazball project is effectively finished, former England captain Mike Atherton has written in The Times, following the ECB’s decision to retain Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes after England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat. Atherton wrote that Monday’s announcement at Lord’s “in effect ends the Bazball project as was,” with a more rigorous and accountable Bazball MkII now targeting the 2027 home Ashes. Players “who were given too much rope in Australia will be on a shorter leash,” he said, with selection likely to become more ruthless and results-driven. A senior appointment to the ECB board of someone with high-level cricket experience would also keep the management on their toes, Atherton noted. The management, Atherton wrote, was “very fortunate” to survive, noting that Duncan Fletcher, Andy Flower, Ashley Giles, Chris Silverwood and Joe Root had all paid the price for poor Ashes campaigns in recent years. At its core, he said, the failure in Australia was “an old tale: one of a set-up that became a …

Ben Stokes says last three months have been ‘hardest’ of his England captaincy reign | Cricket News

Ben Stokes says last three months have been ‘hardest’ of his England captaincy reign | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 24, 2026 12:31 PM IST On a day that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave extensions to England Test captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, Stokes has said that the past three months have been the “hardest” of his captaincy reign. “Being England captain is the greatest honour a player can be given and I do not take it for granted. It has its highs and it has its lows, it makes you want to smile, it makes you want to cry,” Stokes said in a post on Instagram with a picture of himself, Key and McCullum. “It completely and utterly consumes you and feels like it’s the only thing in your life at times. The last 3 months has without a doubt been the hardest period of my captaincy journey, it’s tested me in so many different ways and I’m sure every other captain has gone through this as well.” The under-fire England captain reaffirmed his commitment to take the England team forward after …