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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Brendon McCullum claims he does "bugger all" as England coach after Stuart Broad praise

England Test coach Brendon McCullum has made a stunning impact since his appointment back in May.

Alongside captain Ben Stokes, McCullum has transformed an England side that had won just one of their last 17 Tests into one which has now won nine of their last ten. The fear of failure has been removed and England are playing a new positive and aggressive brand of cricket that has been dubbed 'Bazball' after McCullum's nickname.

However, McCullum credits Stokes as the mastermind behind England's newfound success, joking he has "a really easy job" with the all-rounder at the helm. "I don't do bugger all, to be honest," McCullum told Sky Sports.

"I just make sure that the guys remain consistent with their own beliefs, and that they all want to be the best version of themselves. To be honest, it's a really easy job … don't tell my bosses.

"But I'm really enjoying myself, and I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. I feel incredibly lucky that I've taken over this job when Stokesy has got the reins, and I think he's only going to get better and better and better, which is quite scary.

"If he continues to improve and drive this team forward then, with the talent that sits within the dressing room, they will give it a good shake anyway."

England bowler Stuart Broad described McCullum as "an incredible man-manager" (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Stuart Broad, however, was having none of McCullum's attempts to downplay his role in England's success and offered some interesting insight into the New Zealand's coaching, calling him "an incredible man-manager".

"I've not seen him throw many balls, I've not seen him talk technically to anybody, but you watch every training session, he walks around and speaks to every single player," Broad revealed.

"Just checking in and seeing how they are, seeing what their mindset's like, making sure they are taking the options that are right for the mantra of the team. He's an incredible man-manager."

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