England cricket: Brendon McCullum believes his relationship with Harry Brook has 'blossomed' over the past 18 months

21.10.2026, 21:54 skysports.com

England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum believes leaving Test cricket in the rear-view mirror has allowed his relationship with Harry Brook to continue to flourish.

The New Zealander took charge of the Test side in 2022 and took control of all three formats in 2025. However, in July, a month after then captain Ben Stokes' dramatic international retirement, he stepped away from the Test game that had become such troublesome terrain.

"In a funny way, I think, sort of now, Harry and I, our relationship as the captain and coach over the last 18 months or so has really blossomed, and I think we work fantastically well together," McCullum told Sky Sports.

Brook has held the mantle of T20 and ODI captain since Jos Buttler stepped away from the role in April 2025.

Under his leadership, the T20 side is now ranked top of the global rankings and, despite a disappointing 87-run defeat by Pakistan in their opening match in Rawalpindi, the one-day side is slowly moving in the right direction.

To succinctly summarise McCullum's tenure would be tricky, owing to the multitude of highs, lows and nightclub incidents - Brook himself making headlines after a hushed-up scuffle with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington last winter.

"Eventful is a good word, but in a funny old way I think things worked out really well," he said, before praising Brook's leadership and technical abilities.

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"He's grown immensely as a leader in the last 12 months in particular.

"He's obviously a brilliant tactician, but he commands the respect of the dressing room as well."

When Test captain Ben Stokes retired in dramatic fashion a month prior to McCullum's eventual departure in July 2026, Brook was near the top of the small number of potential replacements.

Ultimately however, occupying the captaincy of all three formats was deemed too much responsibility for the Yorkshire batter and veteran Joe Root was once again called upon.

McCullum took the red ball helm in 2022, setting sail on the Bazball voyage alongside his appointed skipper Ben Stokes. This came after a bleak period of stagnation where England played 44 Tests between 2019 - 2022, winning 15 and losing 22.

"I think the last four years that I had in the Test job was something I'm immensely proud of," McCullum said.

"It's one of the highlights of the time that I've had in cricket to be able to be in the privileged position of coaching the Test side and we achieved some good things."

For a while this flamboyant and aggressive style of cricket did reap reward. Ten wins out of 11 games kickstarted the campaign, but 17 losses with a return of 16 wins followed.

As well as an emphatic 4-1 Ashes thrashing Down Under.

"We obviously left a little bit on the table as well, but I have zero regrets about the time and I'm certainly content with where it all sits now," said McCullum.

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England began their tri-series with a disappointing loss to Pakistan, which raised eyebrows. McCullum's side will look to bounce back over the course of these games in the subcontinent, starting against Sri Lanka on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.

"I guess when you talk, everyone wants to win, right? Ultimately, we're all incredibly driven and competitive, and that's the ultimate goal," McCullum said.

"For us, it's more you're trying to work through the process of things. How do you stay calm during the moments to be able to make good decisions to allow your talent to come out?

"If we're good enough, we give ourselves an opportunity to play in another final. That's got to be great preparation for what we're hitting as well in terms of the World Cup (in late 2027).

"The last three series we've played., we've found ourselves in must-win games. We just won all three.

"So it'd be good if we continue to just improve as a side, keep getting better, keep getting more familiar with what we're trying to achieve. Ultimately, it'd be great if we were able to gain the success of winning this series."

Watch England's next tri-series match, against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 8.30am on Thursday (9am first ball). Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract through NOW - cancel anytime.

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