Jos Buttler believes Brendon McCullum is “as sharp a coach as I’ve ever worked with” and that the use of the walkie-talkies to relay messages on to the field exemplifies that.
Empowering his players has been a hallmark of McCullum’s reign as England head coach, but that has led to accusations he was asleep at the wheel in the build-up to and during this winter’s 4-1 Ashes loss.
Since then, the ex-New Zealand captain has seemed more proactive, with the use of handheld transceivers to send out instructions or advice to his players, with substitute fielders as intermediaries.
Buttler praised the initiative, insisting coaches in other sports have long since adopted such measures to attempt to influence results, while he has seen the practice employed at the Indian Premier League.
“Baz can sit with his feet up and sunglasses on and look very relaxed, but he’s as sharp a coach as I’ve ever worked with – he doesn’t miss a beat,” the former England captain said.
“He was a really successful captain, he’s got lots of great messages and knowledge to pass on to all the players. His relationship with Harry Brook has been a great one for this team; they’re a really close pair, they see the game in a similar way and also challenge each other.
“More so for cricket in general, for coaches to be getting involved in real time in cricket, I’ve played in the IPL with Gujarat (Titans), where Ashish Nehra was very active on the boundary rope.
“It seems like cricket is the sport where we’re still a bit behind in that area. You look at other sports, like rugby where they run messages on. Maybe that will come more and more into cricket.”
After quitting as England white-ball captain last year, Buttler admitted he found it quite tricky to fit back into the rank and file, but he is growing more comfortable with his role as elder statesman.
An on-field chat with Joe Root, who continued his England career after stepping down as Test captain in 2022, during an ODI in Cardiff last June helped Buttler confront the challenges head on.
“It was actually during the game,” Buttler said. “He was stood at slip and I was keeping wicket and we had five or 10 minutes just talking about how different it is when you’ve captained the team and then coming back in and some of the various emotions he felt, the challenges that he found.
“That was really helpful. Joe’s someone I’ve played a lot of cricket with and a good friend, so it was nice to just compare notes. As a senior player, you’ve definitely got a role to play.”
England started their T20 World Cup with a nerve-shredding four-run victory over Nepal on Sunday in Mumbai and they return to the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday to take on the West Indies – their only Test opponents in Group C.
Luke Wood drops out of the XI after struggling in his final over against Nepal, leaking 14 runs including three wides, and he is replaced by fast bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton in the only change.
The two teams met in India twice in the 2016 tournament, with the Windies the victors in both, including the final. Chris Gayle’s belligerent century settled the group-stage contest in Mumbai.
“Chris Gayle was the best T20 batter there’s ever been,” Buttler said. “Hopefully the result can be different (on Wednesday).”
PA
