Former Australia cricketer Steve O'Keefe has offered his thoughts on Brendon McCullum’s future as England’s head coach, as pressure mounts following their shaky Ashes campaign. England trail 0-2 in the series after suffering heavy defeats in both Tests so far.
O'Keefe pointed out that England’s overall performance under McCullum has been significantly better than the period when Joe Root was captain and Chris Silverwood was head coach. Despite criticism, he believes the former New Zealand skipper remains the right man for the job.
“Taking the emotion out of it, look at the numbers,” O'Keefe said on SEN Radio. “At the end of the Root–Silverwood era, England had won just one of their last 17 Tests. Under McCullum, they’re winning at around 58 per cent. No England team has come to Australia and done well since 2010–11. Will he survive? A lot of people think he won’t, but personally, I’d stick with him.”
While backing McCullum, O'Keefe also urged him to be more receptive to criticism and adapt his strategies when touring challenging places like Australia.
“He’s brought a bold new approach to this England side. Do they need to evolve? Yes. Does he need to listen more, adapt, and correct things? Absolutely. A century of Test cricket shows you can’t stick to the same plan and expect different results when you’re getting thrashed,” he added.
McCullum’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ style has massively influenced England’s Test cricket, but it has also drawn scrutiny when the results haven’t matched the ambition. England’s batting struggles were again exposed in the first two Ashes Tests, both lost by eight wickets. The third Test of the five-match series begins on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
