Key made it clear when he was appointed England managing director two years ago that his decision to split the coaching roles was driven by pragmatism rather than principle. “You get a better list of candidates… almost all of them are like, ‘If it was a (role), I wouldn’t go for it,'” Kay said. “You want the best people, and you build the structure around them.”

In fact, that’s what the key has attempted to do with this gambit. McCullum has completely transformed England’s Test cricket: he has overseen 19 wins, eight defeats and a single draw, giving them a distinct identity that they have been sorely lacking. Key’s belief is that he can have a similar effect on white-ball static setups.

This is a call that highlights the importance of perception. England have played some impressive Test cricket under McCullum but are yet to win a series against the world’s top two: they drew with Australia last summer, and were beaten in India earlier this year. There was a heavy defeat. Still, a team feel remains – not least after five clinical wins this summer.

The pitfalls of McCollum’s new role are in plain sight. Only India plays more men’s international cricket than England, and England plays more Tests than anyone. Their ridiculous fixture list includes a 24-hour turnaround between the conclusion of the fifth day of the upcoming third Test against Sri Lanka and the start of the T20I series against Australia.

Key insisted that “constant clashes” between formats “start from January” but the cricket schedule is still substantial. McCullum is expected to have some difficulty handing over the reins to one of his assistants for several bilateral series over the next three years – as Rahul Dravid did throughout his tenure with India.

The trouble lies further ahead, with a dilemma that has been familiar to England captains and coaches for the past two decades: how do you plan for both an Ashes series and a World Cup immediately afterwards? It’s like a tennis player winning Wimbledon and jumping on a plane to Flushing Meadows, or an athlete being asked to compete in the world championships right after the Olympic Games.

In both the winter of 2025-26 and the summer of 2027, McCullum will need his players to be at their best over a four-month period – a scenario in which England have always struggled. Nasir Hussain (2003), Michael Vaughan (2007) and Andrew Strauss (2011) have all led losing squads in 50-over World Cups held immediately after Ashes tours, with predictable results. Buttler faced a similar situation last year, with England’s multi-format players underperforming in India.

Butler was among the players who struggled five years ago when the turnaround was reversed. England’s 2019 World Cup victory, the culmination of their white-ball revolution under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, left the players physically and emotionally drained, but the home Ashes series followed quickly: England won Series 2 Draws with -2, but she is out.

As Australia’s excellent record in World Cups can attest, crossing the twin peaks in succession is by no means impossible: only three members of their team that beat India in Ahmedabad last year Thi, did not join the Ashes tour before the World Cup. Andrew Macdonald oversaw success on two fronts, which England’s coaches ignored.

More immediately, McCullum’s job will be to inject some energy into a white-ball set-up that has seen little of it since June’s T20 World Cup exit. They will watch their next 14 matches from away, with Marcus Trescothick in interim charge, then make a quick trip to India to make their mark ahead of February’s Champions Trophy.

The biggest unknown for McCullum will be his relationship with Butler. Buttler idolized McCullum as a player but never played or worked with him, and his captaincy came under scrutiny after England’s semi-final defeat by India in Guyana. is Where Buttler had the balance of power over Mott, McCullum should be strong enough to take the lead.

England believe they have a new core of young players who can become regulars across all formats in the next decade: including Harry Brook, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson, who made their attack debuts in McCullum’s Test team. Has shown a good manner. It’s just the latest step in Key’s efforts to bridge the gap between the two codes – which was in danger of becoming a chasm.

It was barely two years ago that McCullum made it key that he had no interest in competing with England’s white-ball teams, when Morgan made him not just a regular semi-finalist but a trendsetter in the world game. was changed. Now that they are left behind, he finds himself in charge of another revival.