It has been hard to know who to cheer for more in the cricket series between the Black Caps and England.
As a Kiwi there are two choices: Brendon McCullum or the New Zealand team.
I totally agree with the appointment of McCullum in the coach’s role and I sincerely want a Kiwi to do well and stamp his style on the English team.
There is evidence so far from the two Tests that he is having a profound influence on the type of game the English will play and they appear to be enjoying his style of man management. One of the Englishmen endorsed his “chilled” style.
A coach can have a tremendous influence on the mental state of a player and what it does to his game. Not knowing McCullum, I would say he would be an enjoyable character to play with and for.
Many coaches and managers believe they must turn their players and staff into robotic individuals who are managed so rigidly they lose all form of self-expression. Players are at their best when allowed to express themselves and play with freedom. Staff are the same too, give them responsibility and freedom and they will be more positive team members.
‘Positivity’ is the key word in Brendon McCullum’s coaching manual and this can be seen by England’s tremendous run chase to win the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Many teams would have gone into their shells and played out the draw, with England leading 1-0 in the series that would have been a popular option. But now they have won the series due to a fantastic knock by Johnny Bairstow, hitting the second-fastest century by an Englishman. I can only imagine Johnny is enjoying playing under McCullum.
The English appear to have unearthed a decent opener too, in Alex Lees. There are certain players who just look the part and Lees does just that, unlike his predecessors. The medium-pacer Matthew Potts also appears to have slotted seamlessly into the line-up.
I was desperately keen for McCullum to win the first Test at least, and anything after that is a bonus. If the English had won without him, the pain of losing would be a little more intense. I have thrown all bias out with the intention of seeing McCullum do well. He appears to combine a fire in the belly will with a beach-cricket attitude.
And what of the Black Caps? I am an enthusiastic fan of Kyle Jamieson and it is sad to see him head home with an injury. Will Neil Wagner play in the next Test? I sincerely hope so. Tim Southee is struggling at present, so Wagner in for him possibly.
Neil Wagner (Photo by Jeremy Ng / AFP / Getty Images)
Now that the series is won by England, maybe they will play with even more freedom in the third and final Test, at Headingley. An unchanged line-up? Or is it time to select another up-and-coming fast bowler?
I am pleased that McCullum has started off with two wins out of two and he is hopefully creating a more competitive English team for the next Ashes.
Black Caps or Brendon McCullum? If England are playing anyone else in the future, I will be right behind McCullum and will watch his style of coaching and man management with great interest.
For now it is McCullum first, Black Caps second in my support. Although my theory does not apply to Dave Rennie, coach of the Wallabies, for some reason! It will always be the All Blacks.
Maybe it is because of McCullum’s style and attitude that I would like to see him succeed?
Who are you supporting?
Every time I see this guy in the stands on the English team balcony I feel like puking. Yeah yeah yeah, "professionalism" and all that means McCullum is free to do as he pleases, but I still think he is a traitor. My opinion, feel free to differ.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
You talk a lot of sense Joshua.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
Summed it up Joshua. He is still a Kiwi. I’ll be honest here and say if he is coaching England vs Oz in Ashes I’ll be cheering for Brendon.
Micko
Roar Rookie
No, this is the same for ANY kiwi abroad. They were all excited when Robbie Deans was hired as Wallabies coach (same as Dave Rennie), and cringily called him "Dingo". All kiwis were absolutely furious however when Robbie Deans was sacked as Wallabies coach, like it was some personal insult to EVERY kiwi. So this is an established pattern with kiwis.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
I absolutely get that, being half-Swedish I'll cheer on any Swede in any sport even if they're coaching another country or club. But, as Peter has already said, I think a main reason for his support of McCullum is that Brendan is just a very likeable man who you find yourself wanting to succeed.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
I think you're right, it is because of McCullum's personality that you have more than a soft spot for him. As an Englishman, I am delighted with Brendan, he seems exactly what we need at the moment.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Kane needs to get serious about his priorities. Not giving himself a rest (i.e. playing IPL for that window every year because he can't resist the huge pay cheque) seems to be compromising him long term. He can't seem to shake these recurring elbow issues (despite surgery), and twice now (that I know of) he's missed important tests because of illness when NZ really needed him. Maybe he needs to take a year or two off from the IPL.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Good point about Jessop. But there are tons of times in England where the ball stops moving after a day or so an it’s flat as a pancake - see the latest Test at Trent Bridge? And England has played loads more Tests than anyone else. 20% more than Australia. Nearly twice as many as Windies, I.e about half as many matches outside England as Windies have played Tests.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
For those focusing on the negative side of his appointment, realise that this is a tremendous accolade for NZ cricket that England's coach is from little ol NZ.
WINSTON
Roar Rookie
McCullum’s immediate success was a pleasant surprise. I expected it to take longer to turn England around. Having said that, NZ made a serious error in not playing Wagner, their variation strike bowler
Targa
Roar Rookie
Some really good signs in the latest round of English county cricket. 4 young Kiwis were playing (3 who have played for NZ and one who plays for Canterbury): Rachin Ravindra: 217 & 46 not out Glenn Phillips: 125 & 59 Jacob Duffy: 3/96 & 5/66 Will Williams: 2/42 & 4/70 We have an ageing team so need to integrate a few more youngsters into the side.
Targa
Roar Rookie
The Black Caps are in a terrible way at the moment. So far this year they have lost a test to Bangladesh, a test to South Africa, and 2 tests to England. On paper they should be too good for these sides. I don't know what the problem is - complacency, loss of motivation after winning the WTC, poor tactics, coaching, and/or selection? I know Kane has a terrible elbow injury which probably dominates his thoughts, but he needs to pull the team up by the scruff of the neck and get them to get back to their high standards (including with fielding). Also we need to bring in more younger players as most of them are 30+.
Targa
Roar Rookie
No Conway started a new life in NZ with his now wife who came to be a physio. He turned up to play club cricket. There was no expectation he'd play 1st class cricket for Wellington and certainly none he'd play internationally. He just felt settled here then starting scoring truckloads of runs.
Targa
Roar Rookie
Can't agree with you at all. I am absolutely gutted that the Black Caps are playing so poorly and losing to an England team we'd got used to out playing (before this series they hadn't won a test against us since 2015, or beaten us in a series since 2013). On paper before the series I would have only put Root, Stokes, and Anderson in a combined side. However, despite being much weaker on paper England have been mentally stronger with NZ blowing two matches we shouldn't have lost. Since winning the WTC we've been atrocious with the players switching off instead of fighting. The selections have been poor too - Michael Bracewel????? No Wagner???? etc I don't mind if McCullum does well, but not against us. And now Bracewell and Conway have covid with CDG and Jamieson out injured and Williamson missing the 2nd test with covid. What a terrible tour.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
They need to unearth a few more Bracewells
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
The choice between supporting New Zealand or a New Zealander in charge of England??? Hmmm. It's like choosing between winning the lotto, or having your face gnawed off by a goldfish.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
I wondered why he wasn’t selected . Thought he may be carrying an injury ..someone needs to whisper in Stead’s ear a time honored truth … bowlers win matches .
Sylvester
Guest
Yeah, NZ's cupboard is fairly bare outside the best 13 or 14. The future looks very scary with Wagner, Boult and Southee all likely to retire in a group. In this series, Stead panicked about the weak batting by weakening the bowling attack in favour in kinda all rounders - but the batting was terrible anyway. Wagner should be an automatic pick.
Sylvester
Guest
Nah, Team NZ actively courted public support with the "our cup" vibe, so it's natural people felt annoyed when they realised they'd been sucked in by just another mercenary sport.
bigbaz
Roar Guru
No