<\/p>\n
Brendon McCullum said that \u201cthe project isn\u2019t finished yet\u201d as he pledged to stay on as England head coach despite the shock retirement of Ben Stokes, his captain and right\u2011hand man over four years in charge of the Test team.<\/p>\n
After England lost against New Zealand on Monday in Stokes\u2019s final game as an international cricketer, McCullum said he is fully committed to a contract that runs to the end of next year. \u201cFrom my point of view, my enthusiasm and commitment to English cricket has never wavered, and that\u2019s certainly the case now. I\u2019m excited about the opportunity of where this cricket team can get to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe project isn\u2019t finished yet. When you take jobs like this, you know there are going to be days where you have to navigate through tough moments, and keep projecting forward to what you think the vision for your side is and how you are able to shape that. And again, for me, my enthusiasm and my commitment to English cricket has never wavered.\u201d<\/p>\n Stokes, meanwhile, declared his \u201c100% support\u201d for Harry Brook to take his place as captain, despite the official line that no decision is imminent. He also suggested the appointment of Joe Root as interim when he was forced out of the second game of the series<\/a> was not one he supported.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reason he was asked to be vice-captain of this team,\u201d Stokes said of Brook. \u201cI know with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, decisions were made. They were decisions I was not part of making. You are asked to be vice\u2011captain for a reason, and I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time. It\u2019s the natural progression, if the captain is not there you step up.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn\u2019t be asked to do that. You don\u2019t ask someone to be vice\u2011captain if you don\u2019t think he\u2019s got the skills and ability to captain the team. If I was to be asked who I think should do it, I would be throwing my 100% support behind Harry Brook.\u201d<\/p>\n Stokes\u2019s answer to the question of whether McCullum and Rob Key, the managing director of England men, should remain in their posts was not quite so effusive. \u201cWhat me, Brendon and Rob have managed to do over four and a half years, I\u2019m not going to lie, it\u2019s been quite an interesting ride,\u201d the 35-year-old said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had some incredible highs and we\u2019ve had some pretty low lows as well, but I feel we\u2019ve always connected pretty well. I\u2019m done now. I don\u2019t have to make those decisions, I don\u2019t have to be involved in all that kind of stuff. But I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed my four-and-a-half-year working relationship with Brendon and Rob.\u201d<\/p>\n Stokes\u2019s once-buoyant relationship with McCullum became strained during the Ashes series defeat<\/a>. Tellingly, while he gave Brook, as his vice-captain, and Root, his old friend and predecessor in the captaincy, advance notice of his intention to stand down on Saturday night, McCullum found out only on Sunday morning, minutes before the rest of the squad. The coach tried to talk Stokes into staying on, but was shut down in what was only a brief conversation.<\/p>\n McCullum said: \u201cHe grabbed me when we arrived at the ground and he said: \u2018Baz, I\u2019m done.\u2019 I was just like: \u2018Slow down, you don\u2019t need to make any rash decisions right now, let\u2019s just talk through this.\u2019 He said: \u2018Honestly, I\u2019m done.\u2019 I felt like he was very definitive in his thought process, whereas in my head I hadn\u2019t really had him at that stage yet, so I thought there was still room for negotiation. There wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n The New Zealander said the identity of England\u2019s next Test captain was \u201cone of those things we need to just take a bit of time to work out\u201d, that there were \u201cmany good candidates\u201d in a squad that contains \u201csome good strong leaders\u201d, and that \u201cwe want to make sure that we go through the right process to make sure that we give the next captain every opportunity to be successful\u201d.<\/p>\n
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