Brendon McCullum has vowed that England’s pace bowlers will remain at full throttle throughout 2025 - meaning there will be no cotton-wool treatment with the Ashes in mind.
Ahead of Wednesday’s opening Twenty20 match against India at Eden Gardens, the first international of a year that culminates with a bid to defeat Australia in a highly-anticipated Test series down under and one that christens his period as England’s multi-format coach, McCullum spoke with enthusiasm about the attacking armoury at his disposal.
England arrived in India with arguably the most speed ever contained in one squad: the quickest quartet of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse all capable of breaking the 90-mile-per-hour barrier, with supporting seamers Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton regularly operating in the high 80s.
‘Pace is certainly an advantage. I think all the best teams that have played the game - you go back to the West Indies of the great era, as good as their fast bowlers were, they were also hostile,’ McCullum said.
‘Look at the English side of the early 2000s. the bowling line-up they had or the great Australian team around that time. Pace just adds that little bit of uncomfortableness for the opposition, and allows the chance to potentially blow teams away and get on top. We'll be looking to try and take wickets, and having that extra little bit of pace helps.
‘We’ve got plenty of weapons and over here, because of the ground sizes and the fact Indian pitches are pretty good, if you're not chipping away in the wicket column, then scores can get pretty big.’
Wood's return follows a four-month sidelining triggered by a stress reaction in his elbow while Archer is yet to play first-class cricket since returning from a similar injury last year, but McCullum insists caution will not necessarily get England to where they want to be in 12 months’ time.
‘Plan as if you live for ever but live as if you die tomorrow,’ he said.
‘You’ve got to have ideas in your head and that's why we've been open about building a battery of fast bowlers because things can and normally do happen.
‘You've got to make sure you've got a bit of a back-up plan for that. While the guys are fit and they're firing and they're enjoying playing, you don't want to hold them back, you want to let them get out there. I wouldn't imagine that we'd be doing too much of that cotton-wool treatment.’
Jos Buttler will continue captaining from the outfield and batting at No 3, as he did during for the 3-1 Twenty20 series win in West Indies in November.
One change, however, is the appointment of Harry Brook as vice-captain. Yorkshire’s Brook, 25, deputised as captain during last September’s one-day matches versus Australia when Buttler was injured, between spells wearing the armband for Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone, but has now accepted the role permanently.
Read more 2025-01-20T19:00:52Z