Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports he has no plans to quit as England head coach following the shock international retirement of captain Ben Stokes.
Stokes’ decision was revealed at 3.25pm on Sunday, moments before the all-rounder claimed a wicket on day four of the deciding Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
McCullum and Stokes took charge of England in the spring of 2022 and went on to win 11 of their first 13 Tests before results tailed off as the team’s Bazball approach came unstuck.
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Outgoing England captain Ben Stokes took a wicket with the first ball he bowled after his retirement from international cricket was announced
Monday’s loss to the Black Caps – which subjected England to a first home Test series defeat in a contest of three or more matches since 2012 – was a seventh in their last nine Tests.
McCullum, who presided over a 4-1 Ashes thrashing in Australia over the winter, is contracted until the end of 2027, a year that includes a home Ashes series in the summer and the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the autumn.
“My enthusiasm for English cricket has never wavered. I’ve got a firm belief in the direction this team can go,” said McCullum.
“[The Lord’s Test] was a great example of some improvements, to be able to handle pressure when pressure arose, and to be able to tactically implement some players so we can be a more rounded team.
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Stokes reflects on his England career after his final Test match
“The second Test was difficult for a number of reasons, and here we were outplayed in a tough contest by a great New Zealand side.
“We still have an identity about us, but we want to continue to furnish and harness that to get us in a direction that we are the team that we want to be. The talent that sits within this country is immense.
“My belief and my commitment to English cricket has never wavered throughout.”
Stokes and McCullum took charge of England in 2022
McCullum’s future could be taken out of his hands with the reset England wanted after an error-strewn Australia tour falling flat.
The team did win the first Test of the summer against New Zealand, by 115 runs on an awful Lord’s pitch.
However, the victory was overshadowed by Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson breaking a team curfew by attending a nightclub after midnight the following morning and an ECB security guard requiring stitches having been struck by Saracens academy rugby player Totoa Auvaa from a punch aimed at Atkinson.
The curfew was established after drink-related issues had plagued England’s winter, including Harry Brook being clocked by a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand and a video emerging of Ben Duckett seemingly drunk during a break in Noosa between Ashes Tests.
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Before the Trent Bridge Test, Stokes spoke to Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton about the chaotic fallout from the nightclub incident
Stokes and Atkinson were stood down from the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval while the ECB and the Cricket Regulator investigated the nightclub incident, with an inexperienced side featuring three debutants thumped by 253 runs in their absence.
The pair returned for the third Test in Nottingham after being cleared of violent conduct – they were each given a written warning for breaching “specific contractual obligations” – but England still slid to defeat, despite facing a depleted Kiwi bowling attack.
McCullum has been criticised for allowing Stokes to open the batting in his last Test innings – with four key wickets coming late on day four a key factor in their eventual 160-run defeat – but England’s coach has insisted the decision was both tactically and emotionally astute.
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Nasser says Stokes will go down as one of England’s greatest captains
“I thought the people who have supported him deserved an opportunity to say goodbye and show the appreciation for how much he means to them with one final walk out there,” McCullum said.
“I was a former cricketer – you don’t really feel it at the time, with the guard of honour, and the salutes from the players… but when you look back on it, that’s the real line in the sand moment you need to be able to move on to the next stage of your career.
“We knew that he was going to open the batting, because we wanted to make a dent in the total while the surface was still hard, we knew it was going to get a bit turgid today and the scoring was going to be difficult.
“We needed to get the announcement out there so that people had a chance to understand what was happening and to celebrate it.
“It just happened to be that as soon as it did, Stokesy did what Stokesy does.”
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