- 15 hours ago
Brendan McCullum on Stokes sudden departure as England and New Zealand series defeat
29/06/2026
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, UK
29/06/2026
Trent Bridge, Nottingham, UK
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00:04How do you feel about your future? Do you still have the desire to continue with Ben Stokes, your good
00:09friend, stepping down?
00:12I'll get on to Stokes in the second. From my point of view, my enthusiasm and commitment to English cricket
00:17has never wavered.
00:19That's certainly the case now. I'm excited about the opportunity of where this cricket team can get to.
00:25I think, if we look back to Lourdes, it was a nice improvement of what we wanted to be as
00:31a side.
00:31I thought we executed beautifully. We had poised under pressure when we needed to.
00:36And obviously got the result we wanted to roll onto the second test. The second test was what it was.
00:43And then here I thought for a lot of this test match we played some good cricket, but ultimately were
00:49outplayed by a New Zealand side
00:51who were just relentless in everything that they did. It's disappointing to lose a series, obviously.
00:58We came in with high hopes and going 1-0 up. We had high expectations as well.
01:02But sometimes you've got to put your hand up and say you're outplayed.
01:05But it still doesn't diminish the drive that you've got to do this job and to continue to shape this
01:11cricket team moving forward.
01:12And have you been given the backing of those above you at the ECB to continue?
01:16We have constant communication with the two Richards in particular.
01:24And there's a really good working relationship across the entire ECB.
01:28I feel very lucky to have the support throughout my time so far with everyone at the ECB.
01:36And I'm pretty sure the plan is that we just keep cracking on.
01:39And Ben Stokes has just endorsed Harry Brook to succeed him as captain.
01:43Would you echo that statement?
01:45Look, I think from our point of view now's not the time to make those decisions.
01:50I think we need to take a little bit of time. We've got time on our side as well in
01:55terms of the next test series.
01:57And the good thing is we've got a lot of strong leaders within the side and good candidates to be
02:02able to step into the role.
02:04Now, they won't be Ben Stokes.
02:06You know, Stokes, he was an inspirational captain.
02:11He's a true leader of men and he did things with total conviction.
02:14And, you know, I think it would be unfair to expect the next captain to lead in the same manner.
02:20I think it's important as a leader that you lead with authenticity and in the same sort of the same
02:30characteristics that you like to live your life and you like to see the game played.
02:33So I don't think it would be fair to compare the two.
02:36But for now, we also want to spend our time celebrating what has been an amazing time with Stokes here
02:41to help.
02:45I'd like to talk about Ben as a leader. He's a pretty handy cricketer as well.
02:50Are you worried as a coach on his team that he might be irreplaceable and that the team just got
02:55worse?
02:57Look, I think if you look around all the international cricket teams, they're all searching for a seam bowling all
03:04-rounder that can bat in the top seven.
03:07Ben Stokes has been that for England for the last 13 years and he's helped balance cricket test sides throughout
03:13that time.
03:14And they don't jump out of trees, those types of cricketers, as every international coach will say about their own
03:21teams.
03:22So it's going to be very difficult to replace them from that point of view.
03:26But I do think there's some immense talent which sits within English cricket and it's an opportunity for someone to
03:33put their hand up and say,
03:34I want to command that position and I want to make the best of it to be able to ensure
03:40that I have a long, sustained career just like Stokes has had.
03:44And I think the other aspect about Stokes is that he's inspired so many players that are out there playing
03:52the game through how he went about things.
03:54And there will be elements of whoever comes into that position where they would have looked up to Ben Stokes
04:03over the time.
04:04And sometimes it takes someone to leave an organisation or leave a dressing room for the impact to almost become
04:13even more heightened.
04:14So whoever gets the opportunity, I'm sure they will make a good first of it.
04:20Will?
04:22Can you put the one-man captain in the role for us?
04:26Again, well I think it's one of those things where we need to just take a bit of time and
04:29to work out.
04:30I think we've got some good candidates and some strong leaders within the side.
04:35So we'll work through that and then we'll come up with what we think is the right option.
04:39And do you see that being more than the team tankers?
04:44Again, we've got some good strong leaders as well.
04:47And many good candidates to be able to look at and to be able to work out what our next
04:54step is.
04:54But I'm very confident that whoever it is that steps in, they'll do a good job and they'll have a
04:59good network of leaders underneath them as well.
05:02Which I think is vitally important to be able to ensure that we've got that collaborative approach across our tactics
05:09and our implementation of those.
05:11Chris?
05:13I just wondered on timeframes, do you know when that will be, when would you like that to be?
05:21Obviously for the Pakistan series but was it sooner rather than later or do you need that time?
05:26We'll definitely be having those conversations in the next few days in terms of announcing it.
05:31I don't know when that will be just yet because this is obviously quite fresh.
05:36And we want to make sure that we go through the right process to ensure that we give the next
05:41captain every opportunity to be successful.
05:43And then just going on the result here, since the first time meeting we've lost a series of 1-3
05:49tests in 14 years,
05:51and from the back of the ashes people are saying actually maybe you should go as well.
05:56Do you understand that kind of viewpoint? Or what's your take on that?
06:02Yeah Chris, of course you understand that there's a lot of emotion around things and obviously when you lose it's
06:10incredibly disappointing.
06:12When you take jobs like this though, you know that not every day is going to be easy.
06:17You know that there's going to be days where you have to continue to navigate through difficult times and tough
06:24moments
06:24and to keep projecting forward to what you think the vision for your side is and how you're able to
06:30shape that along the way.
06:31And again for me, my enthusiasm and my commitment to English cricket is as an either way of it.
06:41Tom Lane talked about the importance of the New Zealand late old school cricket.
06:48Do you feel it's anything from your side of the way you're dealing with about this series?
06:54Yeah, you're always trying to, I mean you're always looking at opposition teams and how you're trying to tactically outdo
07:01them.
07:02But New Zealand has a side that they do simple things really well for a long period of time.
07:09And they've been very successful at it.
07:11They also seize really key moments and I look at even two direct hit run outs today.
07:16It's a significant impact on a game on the final day of a test match.
07:22Now from our point of view, we want to keep evolving.
07:25We want to become a team which we still have an identity about us that we have an ability to
07:30put teams under pressure.
07:31But we also want to have the ability, like we did at Laws, to be able to identify moments in
07:36games where the result ball is teetering.
07:40And to be able to make calm decisions under pressure, which allows you to be able to manoeuvre your side
07:46into a winning position.
07:49I guess from our point of view, in this game we were behind the game in a lot of it.
07:54317 for none.
07:56It's quite a big sort of head start you're giving away.
08:01But from that point we were always trying to work our way back into the game.
08:05And last night our tactics around how we batted, I think, was we looked at the game,
08:13looked at the situation where we're going to have to bat last on day five on a pitch,
08:17which when the ball gets soft it's going to be very difficult to be able to have a high cruising
08:21speed in terms of run rate
08:24without an elevated sense of risk.
08:26So we kind of worked out that anywhere between 250 to 290 on the last day is achievable.
08:36Anything over that and you're going to start to be a little bit in danger.
08:39So we knew we had to take the risk because we were so far behind the game.
08:43We wanted to maximise the new ball and also the batting conditions in the afternoon
08:49throughout this test match have actually been a lot easier than the morning.
08:53And it was a risk that we thought was worth taking.
08:56Now, of course, we didn't want to be four down overnight.
09:01But at least we entered today, even with four down, we still entered today knowing that
09:05we have to score three runs and over, which we felt was manageable.
09:09And if we could get the game down the line where there was jeopardy in the result,
09:15then perhaps New Zealand may miss a little bit more with the accuracy and the relentlessness
09:19which they had operated with.
09:21So that was our tactical play with it.
09:25It didn't come off, but I don't believe we would have been in a situation
09:30where we could have fought our way back in the game unless we were able to make a play like
09:33that.
09:34John?
09:35Did you try to talk Ben around you?
09:38Yes.
09:40Clearly not much success.
09:45You know Ben.
09:47No, with no success whatsoever, actually.
09:52Stokes and I have been talking a lot, particularly in the last couple of weeks,
09:55and I won't go into those conversations with Stokes because they're private.
09:59I had an inkling something like this may happen.
10:02But when he grabbed me yesterday morning when we arrived at the ground and he said,
10:07Baz, I'm done.
10:08And I said, slow down.
10:09I was like, just slow down.
10:10You don't need to make any rash decisions right now.
10:15Let's just talk through this.
10:16And he said, no, Baz, honestly, I'm done.
10:18I'm content.
10:19I'm happy.
10:20I'm done.
10:21So from that point, sort of took 10, 15 seconds maybe by sitting there in silence,
10:29and then kind of said, oh, I'm a bit sad.
10:32And he was like, yeah, it is what it is, but I'm happy.
10:35I've done what I wanted to do in the game.
10:37I've done what I wanted to do with this team.
10:40And now's the right time.
10:41So from that point on, it's been about trying to celebrate what he's done for English cricket,
10:47the moments where he's captivated the imagination and the hearts of everyone that supported English cricket.
10:56To me, he's a personality that almost transcends the sport, such as his vivacious character
11:03and his bloody mindedness and his courage that he shows on the field.
11:07And they are traits which need to stay within the English dressing room just because he leaves it.
11:13Those traits need to stay in the dressing room.
11:17And that'll be the challenge and that'll be the message to the boys later on tonight
11:21as Stokesy walks on to the next chapter of his life.
11:26Let's make sure that some of those things which he's left behind remain.
11:33Brilliant.
11:33Just a thought on, as a former keeper, one of Tom Lunders before,
11:37and the influence he had on the series up in particular.
11:41Yeah, he was brilliant.
11:42Absolutely brilliant.
11:44Seems to be able to keep coming up against these keepers who just raise the bar a little bit
11:49when it comes to that tactic.
11:50It's an outstanding tactic, right?
11:53And it's hard.
11:54And we're still trying to navigate our way through what the right sort of counter tactic to that tactic is,
12:00because it does stymie our scoring and it limits our options quite significantly.
12:07I think we saw a little bit last night when we tried to improvise a little bit
12:12and try and knock the bowlers off the metronomical length which they've been able to operate.
12:18But it takes courage to do, right?
12:21To stand up to fast bowlers on a pitch which is going up and down and it's got cracks which
12:26are moving laterally as well,
12:28doesn't come without its own physical risk, let alone your skill element being questioned too.
12:34But I thought he was absolutely outstanding.
12:37And again, it was one of those tactics that we're going to have to continue thinking wrong and hard about
12:41to be able to overcome because more teams will implement that against us.
12:46Bish?
12:48Bax, you obviously know Ben really well.
12:50He told us and I suppose he told me yesterday that when he arrived at the rules for the first
12:56test,
12:57he didn't feel right.
12:58He was obviously quite a perceptive person.
13:01Were your spidey senses tingling at that point?
13:03I missed that last bit, sorry.
13:04Did you sense that something was up?
13:07Sorry, the start of the series?
13:10Um, no, I wouldn't, I knew he was fiercely determined to keep us evolving as a side,
13:19which we were 100% in agreeance with that we need to improve and develop and evolve as a cricket
13:25team,
13:26uh, cricket team without losing the identity of who we are.
13:29So I knew that he was driven from that point of view to, to improve things.
13:35Um, I guess with his, his own game, I think he was, he was wanting a bit more out of
13:45his own game as well.
13:46Um, and I guess from Stokes' point of view, perhaps that he felt the end was, was coming.
13:54And as a player who's been in that situation before, once you start realising that, it is such a hard
14:00thought to get out of your head.
14:01That is, you can't, you can't unthink it, if that makes sense.
14:06Um, and so that, and it does what it also does.
14:10It stops your ability to, to see stuff clearly sometimes as well.
14:15I think it, you've always got that out in the back of your head that you can go to.
14:19And then it makes the, the disappointment feel more severe.
14:23It makes the success feel, feel better as well.
14:26But it makes things a little bit unbalanced.
14:29And, um, yeah, I think in the end of the last couple of weeks, there's been a lot that's gone
14:34on.
14:35Um, we're saying goodbye to one of the great England players and a captain who we've all appreciated for four
14:43years.
14:44And someone who I, I certainly have appreciated working with throughout that time as closely as what we have.
14:49When you were talking, when you were trying to talk about how much of it was, I suppose, also linked
14:54to your enthusiasm.
14:55And I suppose the idea that you and him should have ended like this here, you should be, you know,
15:03half to the ashes next year.
15:06Uh, well, I just, I didn't probably, he was at the stage, I, I guess I, jeez, I'm jumbling around
15:16here.
15:16Um, I feel like he was very definitive in his thought process.
15:21Whereas in my head, I hadn't really had him at that, at that stage yet.
15:26So I thought there was still room for negotiation.
15:29Um, there wasn't.
15:30So we, it was very quickly, um, we just moved on from that point.
15:35And then we started just talking about some of the great times we've had over the last four years.
15:40And, and just, just started trying to celebrate some of that stuff.
15:43And we haven't always got what we wanted out of the last four years.
15:46We've missed opportunities.
15:48We're all aware of that.
15:50Um, but that's just life, right?
15:52I mean, sometimes you don't always get what you want.
15:54So it doesn't stop the fact that we've, we've had an unbelievable experience over four years.
15:59One of the best experiences I've had in my cricket career has been working with Stokesy, um, so closely.
16:05And, and we've achieved some really cool things along the way.
16:08Um, the project isn't finished yet in regards to where we think we can get to.
16:14But obviously Stokesy's just kind of run out of, run out of steam a little bit.
16:17And that happens to a lot of captains.
16:19Is, is, is, from a coach's point of view, you don't have to go out there and bat and bowl.
16:23So the scrutiny level is different.
16:25From a player's point of view, you still have to steel yourself with that courage and, and enthusiasm to get
16:31out there.
16:32And, and still try and find runs and still try and take wickets.
16:35So it's slightly different.
16:36Final one, Mark at the back.
16:38Baz, now you know what you know of why we've ended up at this point with Baz retiring.
16:43As a collective, as an organisation, would you look to do anything different after,
16:48if something like Lord's happens again?
16:50The aftermath of Lord's and the nightclub, et cetera.
16:53Um, sorry, I was just focusing on you.
16:56St. Baz was retiring, so.
16:59Um, look, uh, none of that was ideal, right?
17:04The whole, the last few weeks have been tough on a lot of people.
17:07It's had, it's had, it's had a lot of, um, impact and there's been a lot of, a lot of
17:13things that we've had to navigate right throughout.
17:15And that's, it's not easy.
17:17Um, how you handle that, the decisions you make, you, you've got to make decisions.
17:24And, and that's ultimately, you know, we, we have standards which we want to live by and we need to,
17:30we need to stand for.
17:31Um, if those standards aren't, aren't lived up to, you can't walk past that because that's what kills cultures.
17:38You need, you still need an element of discipline and, and standards within a sporting environment because you are representing
17:45the English people.
17:48You're representing, you know, it's a, it's a big organisation.
17:51There's a lot of fans.
17:52There's a lot of people.
17:53It's, it's high stakes and it's, it's professional sports.
17:55So there is standards here.
17:57You don't want to kill the joy, but there's time and place for all of that as well.
18:01Um, but you try and deal with each situation on a case by case basis.
18:05And you explained the tactical decision last night earlier.
18:10Do you worry that you're losing the support of a general fan if you lose in those sort of ways
18:16again and again and again?
18:19Uh, look, we, we appreciate all our fans.
18:23I mean, we get unbelievable support wherever we go.
18:25Every, every game is pretty much sold out and you go on the road and you get phenomenal support,
18:30especially from, excuse me, the Barmy Army as well.
18:33Um, we are incredibly appreciative of, of the support that we do get.
18:41We have an identity about us, we believe.
18:44It's not finished yet.
18:45It's not completely screwed down and we do need to keep improving.
18:49I have no crimes about saying we're not finished article.
18:53Um, but there are times where you need to stick or twist in games.
18:59We were well behind the game because of the conditions and because of how difficult, which I think I've summed
19:06up before in regards to the scoring rates and the deterioration of the pitch.
19:11Um, and the way that the New Zealand bowlers operate too.
19:14You have to be prepared to make a play to be able to give you some chance in the game.
19:18It's not just a matter of, like, just trying to bet time in that situation.
19:25That is not going to work in that situation.
19:27It's, it's different when Daryl Mitchell and Ratchin Ravindra did it.
19:30It's different because they're in front of the game and the conditions are not as extreme and the bowling that
19:36they're going to face is not quite so metronomical.
19:38It's a different type of, uh, bowling attack.
19:40So that, whilst their approach was perfect for what they needed and if we were in that situation, I would
19:46hope that we would, we would be able to replicate that same style.
19:49But in the situation we found ourselves, we needed to do something different and that was the play we made.
19:54It wasn't successful, but, um, it was the only chance we had to win in the game.
19:59All right, thanks a lot.
20:02Same bit.
20:03Thanks.
20:0336 a.m.
20:10Yeah, I think we did a lot.
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