Brendon McCullum has given his successor as England’s Test coach the thumbs up, declaring Stephen Fleming “like me, but better”.
McCullum lost his job with the red-ball team after following a dismal Ashes campaign with defeat at home to New Zealand, but remains in charge of the limited-overs sides.
That means a return to a split coaching model, with his fellow New Zealander Fleming set to take over the Test squad later this year.
The pair are former team-mates, close friends and even business partners, so it was no surprise to hear McCullum offer a ringing endorsement of the appointment.
“The ECB has done incredibly well to get someone who has options all round the world, to get someone (like him) to commit to English cricket for the period he has is an outstanding achievement,” he told Sky Sports.
“I had a great time for those four years and now it’s heading in a different direction, Flem will be excellent. He’s a little bit like me, but better.”
McCullum was speaking at Lord’s, taking advantage of the new gaps in his calendar to run the rule over London Spirit versus MI London in The Hundred.
He and Fleming may find themselves vying for the services of the same all-format players as time goes on, a problem that blighted England’s two previous attempts to the employ two different head coaches, but he believes their existing relationship can make the arrangement work.
“Flem and I talk pretty much every day, we’re close mates and we’ve done a lot together. He’s one of those guys I trust completely,” said McCullum.
“We have good robust conversations and both of just want what’s right for English cricket. We want to be able to set this thing up so England is successful across all three formats of the game. That is going to take some give and some take at times, but we both understand that and we are going to try and work very closely together.”
