England are set to confirm Brendon McCullum’s appointment as their new Test coach this afternoon, with Paul Collingwood in line to get the white-ball job in the coming days.
As the ECB scramble to sort work permits and other paperwork, McCullum is set to be in place for the First Test of the summer, against his native New Zealand at Lord’s, on June 2. There is no fixed term to McCullum’s contract, and it is expected that he will arrive in the country towards the end of this month. He will help to select his first squad remotely next week.
He is with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) until Wednesday, when they have their final fixture of the season, having missed out on the play-offs.
McCullum has beaten off competition from the likes of veteran South African coach Gary Kirsten to replace Chris Silverwood, who was fired after the Ashes. He will link up with new captain Ben Stokes and managing director Rob Key, with the exact nature of his backroom staff yet to be confirmed.
Next week, Key will chair a selection panel including head scout James Taylor, performance director Mo Bobat, Stokes and McCullum to select a squad to face New Zealand.
Today, Key was due to meet Collingwood in London as he nears a decision on who will get the white-ball head coach role, with England on the verge of becoming the only current team in world cricket with split coaches.
This decision has been made due to a hectic schedule that sees England undertake six tours in five countries across the three formats this winter. Collingwood is not guaranteed the role, with the likes of Kirsten still a possibility, but is the strong favourite.
Collingwood has been involved in the England setup for a number of years, and stood in as head coach of the Test and T20 sides in the Caribbean earlier this year. He is well regarded by the players, and there is an appetite to give an English coach a chance, especially in a white-ball setup where Eoin Morgan has considerable sway.
There is less rush to name a white-ball coach, with England’s next limited-overs engagement not until mid-June, when a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands is wedged between the Second (Trent Bridge) and Third (Headingley) Tests of the New Zealand series.
