England head coach Brendon McCullum has urged his players to be "a bit smarter" with their public comments.
McCullum was addressing the media on Tuesday (May 20) ahead of England's one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. The messaging from the team during their media commitments under his tenure, since 2022, has caused a raised eyebrow or two on more than one occasion.
Last month, fast bowler Mark Wood admitted that some of the criticism around the team was uncomfortable, but also that, “We'll say things in the dressing room, I think that's in the dressing room. That should stay there.”
That was a sentiment echoed by McCullum: “We've just got to be a bit smarter with some of our comments. What we say in that dressing room is often very different to what you expect to come out in a public forum. We've just got to be aware of that, smart enough to be able to make sure that we articulate things when we get the opportunity so that we don't lose touch with the English people.
“We want them along for the ride, particularly in the next few series, which could be quite amazing. We want people to look back and say, 'Crikey, that team in the mid-2020s was a hell of a team that we loved following, and we felt as if we were a part of that journey they went on.’”
McCullum: Would like to see England improve the ability to be humble
“It's not just about what you do on the cricket field. It's how you carry yourself,” McCullum added. “It's how you interact with the public. It's the messaging that you give.
“The ability these guys have to be able to play on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights and the pressure that takes is one thing, but also the ability to be humble and show some humility and not feel out of touch with the general population is something I'd like to see us improve on.”
“If we look at it at the start, people were excited by the way we played. They were enthralled by the freewheeling type of cricket and they felt - I'm guessing here - a sense of belonging to that type of group. With a bit of idle time, we get the opportunity to retrospectively look at things and see where things have been over the last few years, where we've come from, what we've achieved, opportunities we've let slip, and also looking at what we've done for the people that this team represents.”
England announced their playing XI for the Zimbabwe Test earlier today, with the most significant news being a Test debut for pacer Sam Cook, who has been in superb form on the English domestic circuit. Josh Tongue is also set for a return to Test cricket, for the first time since the 2023 Ashes.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
