"He's a disruptor": Why Brendon McCullum is what England needs to turnaround white-ball fortunes

The England and Wales Cricket Board have announced Brendon McCullum as Matthew Mott's coaching replacement for the men's white-ball sides.

Mott was dropped from the position following this year's ICC T20 World Cup, McCullum will take on the role from January 2025. The former Blackcap has also extended his ECB contract through until the end of 2027.

In the interim, Marcus Trescothick will coach England for this month's home series of three T20s and five ODIs against Australia, followed by November's tour of the West Indies.

"This new challenge is something I'm ready to embrace, and I'm eager to work closely with Jos (Buttler) and the team to build on the strong foundations that are already in place," McCullum said.

"The talent within English cricket is immense, and I'm looking forward to helping these players reach their full potential. My goal is to create an environment where everyone can thrive and where we can continue to compete at the highest level across all formats."

McCullum became England's red-ball coach in May 2022, quickly reinvigorating the side with his approach to the five-day game, turning around their fortunes from one victory in their previous 17 Tests, to win 19 of 28 Tests - well and truly establishing the era of 'Bazball'.

Speaking with talkSPORT, former England cricketer Mark Butcher supports the ECB's decision to entrust McCullum with all three forms of the game.

"I think it's the right thing to do whether it's a surprise or not," Butcher said.

"I don't want to be the bloke who says 'I told you so' but when this appointment was made two years ago, I said the best thing to happen would be for Brendon to take on the job across the board. Thankfully, it's happened.

"England have had a couple of very average performances in World Cups, and they've sacked Matthew Mott, but my feeling was always that if you're going to have messaging across England's teams, the best thing to have is to have it come from one person."

SENZ's Israel Dagg, who co-hosted the Breakfast show with McCullum prior to taking on the England coaching role, is more cautious of what the appointment could mean for McCullum's mental health.

The former All Black has sighted the pressure Blackcaps head coach Gary Stead has been under while at the helm of New Zealand's red and white-ball teams, which has led to increasing calls for splitting the role.

"I don't know if I'm a fan of it," Dagg said. "When you're trying to cover all formats, how much genuine dedication or study are you putting on ever format? It's so much pressure on one single person."

While the likes of Australia and South Africa continue to have split coaching roles, the ECB are bucking the trend with this appointment - a decision that cricket commentator Scotty Stevenson backs.

"I don't mind it for the fact that England have found themselves so far down the pecking order in white-ball cricket from where they were, they need a spark plug, and McCullum is perfect for that - he's a disruptor," Stevenson said.

"He goes in there and gets things done - he changes styles, he brings out the confidence in players. They need to rebuild.

"He's a wonderful analyst of the game. I will guarantee you England's white-ball fortunes turn in the direction they want it under McCullum.

"He sees it his way, but he sees it through the eyes of a traditionalist as well, that's what I mean about Brendon McCullum being a disruptor - he can take the game as it's been played for a hundred years and find all the cracks in what's happening, then try send his team through that crack - that's what McCullum is so good at."