“You have to have fun otherwise what’s the point in doing it?”
Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand cricket captain who rarely saw a ball he didn’t want to hit clean over a boundary, is talking about his mantra as England’s coach, a reign which started in May last year with a series victory at home against the Black Caps and has continued at a wildly successful rate which even he, with his apparent eternal optimism, would have struggled to predict.
The 41-year-old has also overseen a home series win against South Africa, a Test win against India at Edgbaston where England chased down 378 for the loss of only three wickets, and a clean sweep in Pakistan – a remarkable run of success notable for the freedom with which his side play and the close working relationship he has with skipper Ben Stokes. The success and friendship with Christchurch-born Stokes is almost certainly related.
Now McCullum is in New Zealand – and more specifically the team’s hotel in Hamilton the day after his side smashed 465 in only 69.2 overs (Harry Brook struck five sixes in an over on his way to 97 from 71 balls) in a warm-up two-day match against a New Zealand XI.
England will play two Tests against the Black Caps – starting next Thursday at Mt Maunganui and finishing at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. The first three days of the latter are already sold out.
The architect of Bazball – the freewheeling and aggressive style employed by his players, and a term he apparently isn’t particularly fond of – is at the forefront of a revolution in the Test arena, and the crowds are apparently responding, along with his players.
And the key message isn’t all that difficult to understand or get behind; have fun, take a few risks, express yourself, play with a smile on your face.
Such is the nature of a cricket team coached by the former Black Caps captain, only part of the build-up is about the game. (Source: 1News)
Facing the New Zealand media this morning – he would later talk to 11 touring newspaper reporters in a separate interview – McCullum spoke of his approach, what he expected from the Tim Southee-led Black Caps, Kane Williamson’s decision to stand down as captain, and whether he would watch his galloper Defibrillate race just down the road at Te Rapa on Saturday (spoiler alert re the last one – definitely, yes).
“Test cricket is hard and travelling the world can be difficult as well,” he says.
“It’s meant to be a fun time in your life and you should be able to enjoy it not just on the field but off it as well. The things that the guys have done over the last week or so will hopefully be memories they’ll take with them for a long time and they’ve done it together which is, from a coaching point of view, one of the most important aspects.”
England have come off a few days rest and relaxation in Queenstown where they stayed at the Millbrook Resort and played golf, among other things.
McCullum is big on golf as a way to relax away from the pitch and while he appears to like to give the impression that he applies very much a hands-off coaching style, the impact he's had on an underperforming team has been so dramatic that it would be wrong not to credit the work that has clearly gone on behind the scenes.
Could he have dreamed that it would go as well as it has over the last nine months?
“It’s been a good start, definitely,” he says. “The results have been great. I know we get judged on results but that’s not really my focus – also, the skipper as well.
“We just want the guys to try to play a style of cricket that gives them the greatest opportunity to allow their talent to come out and to have a good time while they’re doing it. This year has been quite amazing. We know there are some big challenges as well, but whatever happens, we’ve achieved some pretty cool stuff over the last little while.
“I think with split formats now it’s really important to give yourself time to embed those relationships and get that banter going again – to get the guys relaxing their shoulders and get back into touring life and the natural rhythm of how a team operates.
“It’s been good, it’s been great – and not a bad country to do it in.”
McCullum says there was no intention to get after the New Zealand XI bowling in order to make a statement ahead of a highly anticipated two-Test series. (It wasn’t only Brooks opening his shoulders, Dan Lawrence made 85 from 55 balls and Joe Root 77 from 69.)
“The boys just play how they want to play.
“From our point of view, we give them the most amount of freedom and flexibility to do what they want to do. All we want to encourage from a batting point of view is identify the time to absorb pressure and to identify the time and be brave enough to put pressure back on the opposition. If you’re able to do that and get out doing it, so be it.
“From a coaching point of view it’s pretty exciting to watch the talent that these guys have got. Those shots and some of the skills that they possess is pretty insane. We sit back in awe at times at how good these guys can be.”
The tour comes at an interesting time for the Black Caps, who have a new captain in Tim Southee following Kane Williamson’s self-imposed demotion, drew both Tests in Pakistan when they were in positions to do better and were rolled 5-1 across a recent one-day and T20 tour of India.
They are a team finding their way under a new leader but also, it must be said, in search of new identity, if not their mojo, now that their hopes of defending their World Test Championship have gone.
Thoughts on Tim Southee, a man McCullum knows pretty well?
“I’d say I know Tim better than pretty well, I’d say I know him very well,” McCullum replies.
“I think the appointment was a very good one from NZ Cricket, I think he’s a cricketer at the back end of his career who has played his role … has been a key part of the change from where it was to where it is now.
“For him to take on the leadership role with Kane still in the ranks is a significant positive for the New Zealand side. I think they played some good cricket in Pakistan as well in challenging conditions.
“They could easily have nabbed that series too. We know they’re going to be very good in these conditions. Tim will be very creative as he always is and we look forward to seeing how he responds to that.”
How will he build on what his team has achieved over last 12 months or so?
“I don’t think we have to do too much different to be honest. The guys are enjoying their cricket… they have smiles on their faces. They’re laughing and joking and when they put their heads down and work they put in the yards. It’s all you can ask for.
“There will be some tough times no doubt and it will be intriguing how we handle those. I’m sure we’ll handle them with the same sort of calm we’ve been able to handle success with as well. I think with the skipper in charge I’m not sure what’s possible because he’s a guy who writes his own scripts and he achieves some special things. The plans he has for this team are quite lofty as well and he’ll do what he can to drag the boys along for the ride.
Surprised at the decision by Williamson to step down?
“Not really, I think Kane has done an amazing job and he did it for a long period of time. When he took over the job he was able to leave in a better place and that’s what you want when you’re thrust into positions of leadership.
“He did an amazing job. NZ Cricket is very lucky he’s still playing, I think, and he’s able to offer that next layer of leadership to the remaining players in the side. Captaincy is hard, it’s consuming – not just on the field. It’s off the field because you have to immerse yourself in everyone else’s lives. I think Kane did an amazing job and he’ll go down as possibly our greatest ever leader.”
The “our” was revealing, and McCullum himself would probably also be in the running for that accolade.
He talks about the talent in the England team being better than he expected, and Stokes in particular being better than he could have imagined – not only his talent as an allrounder but as a leader.
In finishing he is asked about the reception he expects from the New Zealand crowds, starting in Mt Maunganui.
“It should be all right,” he says.
“They’re going to be entertained regardless of whether they win or we win.
“People are patriotic and want their own team to win but this is one of the reasons we’re in the job – we want to make Test cricket entertaining and make sure people walk away with a great experience of the game.
“Even sometimes when your own doesn’t win, you can still walk away knowing you’ve had a hell of a day out so hopefully that will be the case this series.”
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