S Poddar
Eoin Morgan believes Rob Key should at least sound out Brendon McCullum about the England white-ball head coach role in the wake of Matthew Mott standing down from the position after England failed to defend their limited-overs World Cups on his watch.
With Mott stepping down from his role, interim head coach Marcus Trescothick will take over the reins for the upcoming series against Australia, as Key goes on the search for a new permanent appointment. Morgan, who captained England to their 2019 World Cup triumph, paid a warm tribute to McCullum’s coaching prowess and the change brought about in the test outfit.
Morgan pointed towards McCullum’s success with the Test team, saying he had gelled extremely well with captain Ben Stokes. Speaking more formally, though, Morgan was of the opinion he would do a great job in either role despite McCullum saying he was “not going to speculate as to where that takes us” when asked directly whether he would be interested in taking on the white-ball role.
The 42-year-old McCullum became the head coach of the Test team only this past May 2022, in a reshuffle of the coaching staff that saw the head coach position divided between Test and limited overs following the departure of Chris Silverwood. Morgan said Key would have to make the role attractive for McCullum given the extra responsibilities.
Apart from McCullum, there are a few other contenders for the white-ball role. He makes a mention here of former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, currently managing Northern Superchargers. Other likely candidates include current Pretoria Capitals coach Jonathan Trott and Welsh Fire, who are being managed by the Australian Mike Hussey. Morgan has also confirmed former India coach Rahul Dravid as well as ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting and the head coach of Chennai Super Kings, Stephen Fleming.
Morgan emphasized the urgent need for top-class England coaching because of the target to scoop big tournaments.
