At the end of the final Test of the summer, against Sri Lanka starting on Friday at the Oval, Brendon McCullum will go home to New Zealand for what is being called a short break. The calm before the storm. In the 25 months since his appointment as head coach of England’s red‑ball side – they have played eight more Tests than anyone else – he has spent plenty of time there, striking a balance between feet up at home and feet up on Test ground balconies. All that is about to change.
England’s schedule – as he and Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, referred to in announcing the Kiwi’s new dual role on Tuesday – eases slightly next year from a situation that has slipped the wrong side of ludicrous: August is only just over, but the next time England go as long as 48 hours without having a senior squad on duty it will be Christmas week.
