England begin a new era on Wednesday when Brendon McCullum takes charge of his first match as all-format coach against India at Eden Gardens.
Bazball has undoubtedly transformed England's Test cricket over the past three years and McCullum will now look to revitalize the limited overs teams by implementing some of his essential ingredients.
It begins with the opening of the five-match Twenty20 series at Eden Gardens, followed by three 50-over matches against the Indians, before traveling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy next month.
England have already gone through one white-ball revolution, under Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss, and now need another, after the golden era that culminated in them holding the world 50-over and T20 titles at the same time arrived. to its end in the last two. years.
Here, Mail Sport examines the main areas of focus for a team that has lost 13 of its most recent 24 Twenty20s against major nations and 12 of its last 20 50-over internationals:
The relationship between Brendon McCullum (left) and Jos Buttler will be crucial to regaining white-ball glory.
England need another white ball revolution, this time under McCullum and Buttler
A HAPPY CAPTAIN
When he was announced as Matthew Mott's successor for England's white-ball teams, McCullum stressed that captain Jos Buttler needed to cheer up.
“I've been practicing my smile in the mirror,” Buttler joked yesterday. However, making light of it was not to deny that his behavior changed for the worse during a bad run that began shortly after England became double world champions in 2022.
Let's face it, only winners tend to smile and the downward trajectory of your team's progress would surely have an adverse effect.
Evidence that bringing the fun back to Buttler, as player and captain, would catalyze a turnaround came during November's tour of the Caribbean, when he cut a much more relaxed figure. England defeated the West Indies 3-1 in the T20.
McCullum's decision to publicly bring Buttler's bad mood to light in September also spoke to the strength of their relationship. When the New Zealander was paired with Ben Stokes in mid-2022, they needed a period of friendship, but the McCullum-Buttler axis needs no such adjustment as they got to know each other well through their mutual friend Morgan.
It was also McCullum who persuaded Buttler to give up the wicket gloves and concentrate on wearing the armband, just weeks after the latter claimed in last year's T20 World Cup that his best view as captain came behind the stumps.
McCullum's personal experience came into play here: his own dynamic brand of leadership took shape once an injury forced him onto the field late in his career.
STREAM NAMING
Harry Brook has been drafted in to support Buttler as vice-captain and keep the pitches fun.
To ensure his playbook is packed with attacking moves, Harry Brook has been named as Buttler's official replacement.
England had not gone so far as to announce a vice-captain since December 2023, when Sam Curran stepped in for Moeen Ali against the Windies, and after Buttler's calf injury ruled him out last year, Phil Salt, Brook and Liam Livingstone took turns taking charge. .
Explaining why it was former England Under 19 captain Brook who emerged from that trio of substitutes, Buttler said: “As a team we want to be really watchable, really exciting and aggressive. A team that wants to take on the game.
“Certainly the way Harry plays his cricket, watching him captain the team against Australia, he was the most positive captain I've ever seen, so that's something to take advantage of.”
FUNKY FIELDS
Buttler had a stuttering start to life as a white-ball captain, but now he has a fresh start
Brook will be instrumental in this given his aggressive tactics against the Aussies last September.
Buttler also got creative during the winter win over the Windies, positioning himself short in two of the matches in search of early gains with the ball.
“Not keeping a wicket means you have a bit more time to think about things and I asked myself, 'What could I do to give the opposition something to think about?'” Buttler reflected.
“I played against Baz all those years ago in that 2015 World Cup match in Wellington, when he had four slips and a gully off the first ball (New Zealand bowled England for 123 and won by eight wickets). We'll see if I will go so far.
“However, this is how the game is changing. He needs to find ways to take wickets, or even try to find a way to distract the batsmen.
“So it could be the placements on the field that do that, moving players away from just standing and hitting, and we react to that.”
“You have to move forward, and nowadays you have to try to get people out of there. If they spend any time in the crease, they can hurt you.
RHYTHM ASSAULT
Brydon Carse (bowling) is one of the six quicks in the England team taking on India.
England are intent on making life uncomfortable for opposition batsmen with fast bowling and Mark Wood and Jofra Archer bowling in tandem on surfaces that should provide pace and bounce is a delightful prospect.
McCullum accepts the theory that the less time a bowler has to react, the more likely he is to make a mistake, and is a proponent of fielding as many bowlers capable of operating around the 90mph mark as possible.
England therefore arrived in Asia with six fast bowlers (Wood, Archer, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton) and just two specialist spinners, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed.
However, in the best hitting platforms, what can be key is the ability to shift up and down the gears, fooling opponents by slowing down or speeding up.
In this regard, Archer remains England's most valuable asset, having mastered knuckleballs and slower pitches since bursting onto the international scene in the 2019 World Cup year.
Aware that batsmen can settle in if a bowler has just one pace, even if that pace is fast, Wood spent the England Lions' camp in South Africa in December practicing his pace pitches in a bid to intersperse them with his 96 mph rockets. .
NO MORE CUT AND CHANGES
Ben Duckett (second left) with Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith, two English stars of the future
McCullum intends to optimize the number of players he uses across all three formats, as highlighted by the fact that the squad that traveled here last weekend and the one that will be on duty for next year's ODI series and Champions Trophy month in Pakistan will show only one change: Joe Root replaces 20-year-old Ahmed.
Of the 16 selected for the first assignments of a delightful 2025 ending with the Ashes, all but Buttler, Salt and Rashid have played Test cricket under McCullum.
The push for continuity has given Ben Duckett the opportunity to establish himself as an opener in all three formats, having last played that role in Twenty20 international cricket six years ago.
And in an ideal world, the same group of pacers will contest Test spots against Australia as the year draws to a close.
Having all their stars available on a tour like this (only Ben Stokes is missing, recovering from hamstring surgery at home), offers a stark contrast to England's corresponding early-year trips to South Africa and Bangladesh two years ago. years.
Centrally contracted players were then allowed to prioritize franchise Twenty20 tournaments over international fixtures and others rejected call-ups to fulfill existing contracts with franchises, forcing Mott to muddle through the understaffed trip to Bangladesh.
THE TOUCH OF BAZBOL
Jofra Archer's return will be a big boost for a white-ball England team that has lost its magic.
One of McCullum's most oft-repeated phrases during his Test tenure has been to “run towards danger”, and he wants the limited overs team to emulate the counter-attacking policy employed by Stokes' red-ball team.
“There's going to be times where we'll go a little bit off course and it'll seem pretty normal, but you know, we'll keep moving closer to what we think is going to give us our biggest opportunity,” he said.
“We have a batting line-up that is as powerful as any in the world, we have weapon bowlers, very good fielders and guys who launch absolute rockets with the ball.” We have options to entertain and give ourselves the best chance of success.
“We will use the next few weeks to try to hit the ground running. I'm sure there will be times when we don't get it right, but I hope we sort it out in the next few weeks and we'll be in good shape when the Champions Trophy comes around.