The head coach of England’s Test team, Brendon McCullum, has praised the captain Ben Stokes after the side’s stunning 3-0 series win against New Zealand. While speaking on Sky Sports, McCullum has said that Stokes is the type of leader that other England players want to follow him. He added that Stokes is very clear in his communication and sticks to his plans no matter how the situation is.
The former Kiwi captain stated: “We needed around 297 in 40 overs yesterday and Ben Stokes walked up to me and said we are going to try and knock it out today itself. He’s been absolutely outstanding and is clearly a leader that the guys want to follow. He’s very consistent with his messaging no matter how much is on the line. His ability to control the field has been fantastic.”
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However, England did well against New Zealand as they won all three games of the series convincingly. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s respective stints for England have given a fantastic start and a similar performance against India in the upcoming one-off Test could be seen as well.
Brendon McCullum again added: “It’s been an incredible few weeks trying to blend the guys under Stokes’ leadership. It had some challenges, but the guys really bought into it. I am just delighted with the application and the camaraderie that sits within the dressing room in such a short period of time.”
McCullum also opened up on former Test captain Joe Root’s contribution to the success of the team. He stated that the star batter was at the helm of the side during a tough time and still managed to do well. He also said that Root has played a key role in making things easy for Stokes.
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“It is worth mentioning that Joe Root did a fantastic job with this England side leading into it. He did hold the fort under pretty tough circumstances. It gave some sort of platform as it was a difficult position for someone like Ben Stokes to come in and lead them the way that he has done. It’s been a really cool ride and it’s no easy feat to beat New Zealand,” Brendon McCullum concluded.
