Brendon McCullum named as England Test team head coach

Dubai: Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been appointed as Head Coach of England Men’s Test team.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) made the announcement on Thursday that the 40-year-old will be in place to start his role for next month’s three-match Test series against New Zealand, which gets under way at Lord’s from 2 June, subject to obtaining the necessary work visa, the ECB website statement said.

Competitive interview

The ECB’s selection panel of Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison, Managing Director of England’s Men’s Cricket Rob Key, Strategic Adviser Andrew Strauss and Performance Director Mo Bobat unanimously agreed that he was the outstanding candidate for the role, having impressed during the competitive interview process.

New Zealand-born McCullum currently works as Head Coach of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and previously coached Trinbago Knight Riders to the 2020 Caribbean Premier League title. He also had an exemplary playing career that saw him earn 101 Test caps and was Test captain of the Black Caps from 2012 to his international retirement in 2016.