‘I’ll be around for The Hundred’ – Brendon McCullum eyes England’s next white-ball stars

Brendon McCullum will be in England to watch The Hundred as he continues to focus solely on the national team’s white-ball setup. Having stepped down as England’s Test coach following the team’s 2-1 series defeat to New Zealand, McCullum is now in charge of the ODI and T20I sides, with his current contract running until the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Since taking charge of the limited-overs teams full-time, McCullum has overseen England’s 4-0 T20I series win over India and a 2-1 triumph in the ODI series, while also guiding the team back to the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings.

His decision to attend The Hundred marks a contrast to his approach following England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia, when he opted to take a break and did not attend County Championship matches.

“I’ll be around for the Hundred. I think it’d be great to see some of England’s premier white-ball tournament. If you’re white-ball coach, I think it’s good to be around for that, seeing not just the guys who are in this squad, but also some of the next talent perform under the brightest lights of the Hundred tournament,” said McCullum as quoted by Cricinfo.

“I think it’d be good to be able to see that up close over the next four weeks or so. I’ll look to try and get around some of those games and see that, and hopefully we’ll see some more talent,” he added.

Following the conclusion of The Hundred, England will host Pakistan in a three-match Test series beginning on August 19, while McCullum’s next assignment with the white-ball side will be the tour of Sri Lanka, where England are scheduled to play six limited-overs matches from September 15.

With McCullum’s contract as England’s white-ball head coach set to expire after the 2027 ODI World Cup, his decision to remain in England during The Hundred has sparked speculation that he could be assessing players more closely or exploring a return to the franchise coaching circuit once his tenure with the national team comes to an end.

Meanwhile, England are yet to appoint a full-time Test head coach following McCullum’s departure from the red-ball role. Former England coach Andy Flower has ruled himself out of contention, while the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Justin Langer, Stephen Fleming, Richard Dawson, Mike Hesson and Tom Moody have all emerged as potential candidates. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to make a decision closer to the start of the Pakistan Test series.

England also have an important leadership decision to make after Ben Stokes’ retirement from Test cricket. Harry Brook is currently viewed as a strong candidate to captain across all formats, but the ECB could instead opt to split the leadership roles by appointing a separate white-ball captain to better manage workload and long-term planning.

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us: