McCullum makes ‘no apologies’ for informal set-up

Brendon McCullum says he makes “no apologies” for running an informal dressing room as England coach but rejected the perception it is casual.

Defeat by India in the T20 World Cup semi-finals brought to an end a winter in which England were also beaten 4-1 in the Ashes.

Poor preparation and England’s alcohol consumption came under scrutiny in Australia to put McCullum’s position in doubt, but he looks likely to retain the support of those above him.

“There’s probably a perception that we run a casual operation,” McCullum said.

“It couldn’t be more further from the truth.

“We run an informal operation but the work is done, the preparation is put in place, there’s an environment which operates in a certain way, and because you are relaxed around that doesn’t mean that the work is not being done.

A relaxed environment has been part of McCullum’s England set-up since he took over the Test side in 2022 – an attempt to relieve players of the pressures of playing international cricket.

England were accused of a lack of adequate preparation for the Ashes, playing only one warm-up match against England Lions at a club ground in Perth before the first Test.

After the Ashes it was revealed Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer the night before a one-day international in New Zealand, while a mid-series trip to Noosa was heavily scrutinised.

A review by the England and Wales Cricket Board into England’s winter is under way, the culmination of which will confirm McCullum’s future, but there have already been some changes.

There will be a warm-up match when they travel to Australia for the 150th anniversary Test next year and preparation matches are also likely before next winter’s other tours.

England also added fielding coach Carl Hopkinson to their set-up for the World Cup after a host of dropped catches in Australia. That addition brought greater intensity to their training to the World Cup.

McCullum will now return home to New Zealand before any formal announcement on his future is made.

“We’ll allow this period to land and you look back on the last five or six months, which has been pretty intense, and you look at what you got right, what you got wrong and start trying to work out ways you can improve on the areas that you need to,” said McCullum.

“That’s just doing it with a bit of sound reason and logic when your emotions are out of it.

“I make no apologies for running an informal, positive environment but to call it a casual environment is not quite fair.

England’s exit at the World Cup came when they fell seven runs short chasing a record 254 at Wankhede Stadium.

They depart without producing a complete performance at any point, but came through a number of tight finishes earlier in the competition – notably against Nepal, Pakistan and New Zealand.

McCullum said the side can achieve some “special stuff” in the coming years but only if their talent is “harnessed the right way”.

McCullum is contracted up until the end of the next 50-over World Cup in the autumn of 2027.

“You look at the age of some of the guys that performed well in this tournament and what they could achieve over the coming seven or eight years, it’s pretty exciting,” McCullum said.