McCullum expects Stokes to be ‘all in’ for England

Brendon McCullum expects Ben Stokes to be “all in” after the New Zealander extended his England contract by two years to take control of both the Test and white-ball teams.

McCullum, 42, has transformed England’s Test cricket since he became head coach two years ago and will combine leadership of the limited-overs side from January.

Test captain Stokes, 33, came out of one-day international retirement to play in the 50-over World Cup last year, but has not played white-ball cricket for England since.

“He’s been incredible and our relationship is fantastic,” said McCullum.

“You never know where the game’s going globally and what sort of opportunities will pop up for him, but I know how invested he is in English cricket and how determined he is to drive this team forward.”

Before McCullum extended his brief this week, it seemed likely that he and Stokes would leave their roles at the end of the next Ashes series in Australia in the winter of 2025-26.

Now McCullum will be in charge until the following home Ashes in the summer of 2027 and the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia that autumn.

His tenure will also include the Champions Trophy early next year and a T20 World Cup in 2026.

In an interview with the Telegraph on Wednesday, Stokes said “in an ideal world” he would still be Test captain in 2027 and it was “hard to turn down” playing in global tournaments.

Speaking before the final Test against Sri Lanka at the Kia Oval starting on Friday, McCullum said: “The skipper and I haven’t spoken, but I’m assuming he’s all in. He seems like that sort of bloke.

“I guess we’ll see where he sits. He loves big moments and big stages.”

McCullum also gave his backing to Jos Buttler, who will remain as England’s white-ball captain despite a poor year that resulted in coach Matthew Mott leaving his post.

England, reigning world champions in both limited-overs formats less than 12 months ago, endured an awful 50-over World Cup in India, then lost in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

Buttler has often been in a tetchy mood, which McCullum described as “a little bit miserable at times”.

“What I want from Jos is for him to enjoy the next few years,” said former New Zealand captain McCullum.

“If he was to retire today, he’d go down as probably the greatest white-ball player England’s ever produced.

“The opportunity for the next three or four years – however long he plays for – is just to enjoy it. Not to protect anything.

“Just get the most out of all those guys around him, keep walking towards the danger, play with a smile on his face and try to do something which is really cool.”

Given the busy nature of England’s schedule, McCullum confirmed he will miss some series and hand responsibility to his assistant coaches. He also said there will be times when he tours with his family, who live in New Zealand.

England have won all five Tests they have played this summer and will aim for a six-match clean sweep this week.

They have not won all Tests in a home summer since they earned seven wins in 2004.

England will give a debut to Leicestershire left-arm pace bowler Josh Hull, despite the 20-year-old averaging almost 63 in his 10 first-class matches.

At 6ft 7in, with the ability to bowl a lively pace and swing the ball, Hull is the latest in a line of players picked by England on their attributes and potential rather than domestic record.

“We need to identify that county cricket and Test cricket are slightly different games,” said McCullum.

“What we are trying to achieve is bringing in some of these guys who we see as rough diamonds with incredibly high ceilings.

“We look at these guys and say ‘we think they will be good’. It might take time but we think they are worth investing in.

“Josh Hull is 6ft foot heaps, bowls left-arm, ranges in pace from 80 to 90mph, swings it not too dissimilar to the likes of Jimmy Anderson. He’s 20 years of age, from good farming stock. It’s not a huge gamble, is it?”

McCullum also said England “don’t know” the schedule of their three Tests in Pakistan, despite the tour starting in little more than a month.

The matches in October were due to be played in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan but may be moved because of refurbishment work before the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Abu Dhabi could host part of the series.

“We can’t pick a team until we know where we’re going to play,” said McCullum. “It would be nice if over the next couple of days we found out.”

The forecast for the final Test against Sri Lanka is mixed and there was heavy rain in south London on Thursday afternoon.

The tourists have made two changes to their side and opted for four frontline seamers, with Vishwa Fernando replacing spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, while opener Nishan Madushka drops out and Kusal Mendis returns.

“It is disappointing when you lose,” said Sri Lanka captain Dhanajaya de Silva. “We need to do simple things right, put the balls in the right areas and play the patient game when we are batting.”