Ben Stokes says the decision to enlist Brendon McCullum as England men's new limited-overs coach is "an unbelievable move", and believes his influence will be especially beneficial to the new generation of players who are set to come through the white-ball set-up in the coming months.
The ECB announced on Tuesday that McCullum will combine both roles from the start of 2025 as part of a new three-year deal that will extend his time in English cricket until the end of 2027. Since assuming the red-ball role in May 2022, McCullum - with the help of Stokes - has overseen a shift in culture and results.
A more liberated England have won 19 out of 28 Tests in that time. That in turn produced six series victories out of nine, with just one defeat, away to India at the start of this year.
By contrast, England's white-ball set-up has struggled as the golden generation that lifted the 2019 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup came to the end of their life cycle. Matthew Mott , who was appointed alongside McCullum to oversee limited-overs matters, stepped down in July following disappointing showings at the 2023 50-over World Cup and the T20 edition earlier this summer.
Now, Bazball will feature across all codes. McCullum's task initially will be to assist the talent transition across England's 50-over and T20I squads, as he has done successfully with the Test side. The Kiwi's dual remit may also bring more clarity on Stokes' limited-overs future, after he opted out of the T20 World Cup but is understood to be available for the Champions Trophy at the start of 2025.
Speaking at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London, Stokes - a Red Bull athlete - can only see the upside of McCullum's appointment, especially for limited-overs skipper Jos Buttler. Stokes teased he also might have had a hand in the appointment.
"I was very surprised by the news," Stokes joked to ESPNcricinfo . "First and foremost, I think it's an unbelievable move for English cricket to go back to having a coach in charge of all the teams. You look at what Baz has achieved with the Test side, it's been amazing.
"I'm really excited for the white-ball team to have the opportunity to be able to work with Baz, listen to him speak, his opinions. How his outlook on life reflects cricket, if that makes sense.
"I think Jos is going to really, really enjoy having him as his coach to work with. And you look at all the new faces who are coming into that white-ball team now, I couldn't think of a better person for them to come in and work under at international level for the first time.
"He just gives everyone the platform to go out and enjoy themselves. That doesn't always necessarily mean it's going to reflect on your performances, but Baz never puts any added pressure on anybody's shoulders whatsoever so far.
"If there was any selfishness, selfishness within me, I would be saying 'no, please don't'. But I'm an English fan, I'm an England cricket fan and I couldn't think of a better person to be appointed to be the new coach of the white-ball team as well."
Stokes also admitted he is touch-and-go to make the first Test against Pakistan, which begins on October 7, as he continues to recover from a torn left hamstring picked up while playing for Northern Superchargers in the men's Hundred last month.
Stokes is undergoing his rehabilitation with the England team during their series with Sri Lanka, while also acting as a confidant for stand-in captain Ollie Pope , who would deputise in Pakistan should Stokes not make that first Test. While Pope has overseen an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka heading into the third and final Test at the Kia Oval on Friday, he has struggled to balance responsibilities with batting at three and is averaging 7.50 from four innings.
During the second Test at Lord's, Stokes batted in the nets on the Nursery Ground to maintain his footwork and steadily build up the load-bearing capacity of his hamstring. However, given the high risk of aggravating the injury, returning to full fitness is a steady process. Though pleased with the progress so far, Stokes and the ECB medical team are not taking anything for granted.
"The recurrence rate of these injuries is 50%, which is quite high," Stokes explained. "I'd rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse and then putting myself out of the game for longer. I'm just making sure that I'm doing everything right and everything I possibly can to try and give myself a chance to being fit for that first Test.
"I got told straight away that, within a couple of days, you'll feel good as gold. That doesn't mean that it's healed. So you have to be careful.
"I've stayed around the team because I wanted to be here, but as well, so I'm around the medical team every day. Because anything that I can do, even if it gives me a chance of being back three or four days earlier than initially thought, it's done its job.
"Rehab with hamstrings is incredibly boring, I've found out. It's the first one I've done and I can't really do that much except walk around. I've just started doing some double-leg stuff so I can load my left leg now.
"The doctor, our physio and our S&C [strength and conditioning] coach are trying their hardest to rein me back in. I'm constantly saying, 'Oh, can we do some running next week? Can I play golf tomorrow?' It's all a bit of wind-up."
To find out more about Ben Stokes, visit his Instagram channel and Red Bull athlete page
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