England white-ball cricket: What will Brendon McCullum learn from West Indies tour? | Cricket News

The Brendon McCullum era for England white ball cricket is about to begin.

The Test coach will also be in charge of the limited-overs team from January, taking on a dual role following the departure of Matthew Mott following England’s semi-final exit at this year’s T20 World Cup.

Marcus Trescothick leads the men in white on an interim basis – who hopes to one day become England’s permanent head coach – starting with a home assignment against Australia in September.

He then presided over a 2-1 ODI series defeat in the West Indies, where the players lacked 50-over experience, before winning 3-1 in the next T20 international.

So, what will McCullum take from England’s trip to the Caribbean, which features a number of fringe players and/or promises to also return from captain Jos Buttler’s calf injury?

Livingstone thrives on additional responsibilities

Liam Livingstone went from a small part to a big part for England in the Caribbean.

After a year of batting down the order at No. 7 and bowling a few overs of playing here and there, he was first dropped for the ODI series this summer against Australia before his form in the T20s, due to Buttler’s injury setback, saw him recalled.

With Buttler also absent from the West Indies ODIs, Livingstone was charged with leading the team and playing a true captain’s knock to take England to victory in the second match, in Antigua.

A brilliant 124 not out from 85 balls from the No. 5 spot, he reached his half-century off 60 balls and three figures just 17 deliveries later, rallying England from 160-4 in the chase of 329.

Batting top No 6 for only the third time in 32 one-day internationals, Livingstone showed composure at first and then unleashed power later with no bowlers to spare after passing his fifty. According to Sir Alastair Cook, it is a “coming of age” beat.

Livingstone said he expected to be dropped down the order as England got stronger, with Buttler returning to the 50-over squad and the likes of Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Duckett and potentially Ben Stokes coming in.

But perhaps McCullum would be best leaving Livingstone at No 5. With extra responsibility, comes more results. That’s what Livingstone asked for and he delivered.

Mahmood is a threat with the new ball

Saqib Mahmood is another fear that is shunted out of the picture when England’s first-choice battery of fast bowlers returns – Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Reece Topley, who are injured again on this trip.

But he may have muscled his way into the frame by the way his series-starring performances in the Caribbean saw him take nine wickets across the first three of his four appearances.

Barbados is where he made his Test debut in 2022 – a brilliant one, taking four wickets in the game – and he again looked at home in Bridgetown as he produced career-best figures of 4-34 for England in the series-opening win on Saturday.

That was followed by 2-20 at the same venue the next day, and 3-17 in the third T20 in St Lucia as England won the series – Mahmood’s tone-setting spell with the new ball played a key role in the tour. victory.

From nine scalps, the 27-year-old took eight men in the opening powerplays – a record in a bilateral T20 series – as he made at least some of the luxury moves on offer early on.

Incisive spell is something England dearly lacked at the beginning of the T20 World Cup defense earlier this year, and after forming a strong new ball partnership with Jofra Archer in T20 cricket, perhaps the pair can unite again in ODIs?

Buttler’s return as captain proved crucial

Staying with Mahmood, he paid tribute to Buttler’s “amazing” captaincy for his successful return to white-ball captaincy for the T20 tour.

Buttler’s position has been under the microscope after handing over the limited-overs World Cup final 12 months, getting the execution that former head coach Matthew Mott didn’t.

Buttler has been aggressive with his field position – McCullum’s far-reaching influence may have shown – and has given up his wicketkeeping gloves in the Caribbean to be closer to the bowlers. It seems to have paid off, with Mahmood credited with the move for some nine wickets in the series.

“I’m happy to be working with him again, it’s a little bit different than when he had the gloves, if he was in the middle,” Mahmood said. “They made some calls that paid for us.

“For (Shimron) Hetmyer, we tried to raise the ball and he asked ‘what do you think about the bumper?’ I tried and he got caught at very deep square leg.

Buttler’s brilliance with the bat has returned to where he was at his best.

He was unlucky to fall for a first-ball duck to Gudakesh Motie’s sensational catch in the first T20 but followed that up with a match-winning 83 off just 45 balls in the second.

However, as important as breaking a six, the smile returned to the captain’s face

Bethell showed considerable talent

Eyebrows were raised – and perhaps some county batters were offended – when 21-year-old Jacob Bethell was called up to England’s Test squad as batting cover for the upcoming New Zealand tour, despite the fact that he has yet to score a hundred and averages 25 in first-class cricket. first.

Some impressive innings in the white-ball game won’t silence all critics, but it shows that England have a lot of talent, and can be a match in all formats.

With his presence, power and nonchalant attitude, he stepped right out of the McCullum mold.

Making some impressive cameos against Australia at the back next summer, left-hander Bethell hit three fifties in his native West Indies – he was born in Barbados and lived there for the first 14 years of his life – with one half-century in ODIs and two in T20s .

After hitting 55 in the second ODI, which was somewhat overshadowed by Livingstone’s memorable ton, Bethell hit an unbeaten 58 from 36 balls as England won the first T20I in Barbados, with an innings appreciated by friends, family and colleagues. huge fan club.

The young man passed his fifty again in the fourth T20 – in some style and in some speed, nailing a 22-ball half-century with the third of three consecutive sixes off West Indies spinner Roston Chase. He was unbeaten on 62 off 32 balls.

There is no guarantee that Bethell will be able to transfer this success to the Test arena, but England did not get many, if any, wrong red-ball choices in McCullum and captain Stokes, despite the team’s poor results. late

Lessons to learn from the latest ODI series defeat

England’s tour of the Caribbean was not a total success, as the previous ODI saw the team lose their third consecutive series after losing 13 times in their last 20 games including the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

Again shorn of the regular first-team – like Buttler, Root, Brook, Wood and Chris Woakes – it is not a big surprise to see the outfit in-power England faltering in all too familiar fashion.

Of the 62 ODIs England have played since winning the 2019 World Cup, Root’s best batsman has only played in 28 of them, Stokes even fewer at the age of 19, with participation in Test tours – such as Pakistan and New Zealand bought. this West Indies series – a priority amid an increasingly congested schedule.

Jordan Cox debuted at No 3 against the West Indies, a position he has never played at domestic List A level, putting back an underwhelming 22 runs throughout the series in some sort of context.

It also suggests that England may need to find a way to get players involved in 50-over cricket, with the One Day Cup currently clashing with The Hundred and the best white-ball cricketers unable to do so.

McCullum will not be able to solve the problem but he can overcome the lack of clarity. England have racked up 25 ODI debut caps since their 2019 World Cup triumph – four on this tour alone – but only five have surpassed double figures in terms of appearances (Livingstone, Brook, Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Carse).

Pathway for these players should be clearer, so that they are not immediately consigned to the scrap heap a la Tom Banton, Sam Hain and George Scrimshaw before him.