Brendon McCullum has vowed to put a smile back on Jos Buttler’s face when the pair team up to lead England’s white-ball side, admitting his captain looked “miserable” during two failed World Cup defences.
McCullum will combine his red-ball role with the limited overs job from January after signing a new contract through to 2027 and revealed he expects Ben Stokes to stay on as Test captain throughout that spell.
Together, Stokes and McCullum have transformed both the style and fortunes of England’s Test team over the past two years and the New Zealander now faces a similar task working alongside Buttler in the limited overs set-up.
The captaincy appeared to weigh heavily on Buttler during both the dismal 50-over World Cup campaign of last autumn and the T20 equivalent this summer, where England reached the semi-finals but were then outclassed by India.
"Yeah, he's been a little bit miserable at times,” McCullum said. “I think he's not naturally as expressive as what some may be.
“But, I think he's done a great job, right? He won a World Cup as captain [the T20 version in 2022]. He's been part of World Cup-winning teams previously as well.
“He’s an incredibly gifted player. He's a fine leader. My job is to get the best out of him so that all those that sit in the dressing room feel like they can be ten-feet tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play, and they know that the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and and enjoy the ride with them.”
McCullum will not take charge of the white-ball side until the New Year, with former England batter Marcus Trescothick in interim charge for Australia’s upcoming tour.
Buttler will miss at least the three-match T20 series, which starts next week, and is also a doubt for the five ODIs that follow after suffering a setback in his recovery from a calf problem.
Some critics felt the 33-year-old was fortunate to survive to lead the rebuild after Matthew Mott was sacked as coach earlier this summer, but asked whether he was confident Buttler remains the right man for the job, McCullum said: “Very.”
“If he was to retire today, he’d go down as probably the greatest white-ball player England’s ever produced,” he added. “So, the opportunity for the next three or four years, however long he plays for, is just to enjoy it.
“Just get the most out of all those guys around him, keep walking towards the danger, play with a smile on his face and try to do something which is really cool. Where you can look back and say: ‘Gee, I really enjoyed those last few years’.”
McCullum’s contract had previously been due to expire after next winter’s Ashes in Australia and it had been thought that Stokes would walk away from the captaincy at the same time.
However, McCullum’s new deal will take him beyond the home Ashes series in 2027 and the 42-year-old believes Stokes, too, is in for the long haul.
“The skipper and I haven’t spoken about that actually, but I’m assuming he’s all in,” McCullum said. “You never know where the game’s going globally and what sort of opportunities will pop up for him which will challenge him, but I know how invested he is in English cricket and how determined he is to drive this team forward.
"I’d assume that will involve him being in charge for that period of time.”
McCullum’s presence as white-ball coach could also extend Stokes’s involvement in limited-overs cricket. The all-rounder came out of ODI retirement for last year’s 50-over World Cup, though he opted out of the T20 version to focus on being fit for the Test summer following knee surgery.
“I guess we’ll see where he sits,” McCullum said, when asked about Stokes’s white-ball future. “He loves big moments and big stages.
"As we’ll have to do with all our players, there’ll be times where they can’t play everything, so there’ll be some bilateral series where we simply can’t have all of our best players playing at the same time.
“But when it comes to major events and big series, I think those players are very much in those discussions."
