Bazball’s ringmaster is staying until 2027. Will Cummins and McDonald join him?
By Daniel Brettig
Brendon McCullum’s commitment to mentor England in all formats until 2027 has raised the question of how long captain Pat Cummins and head coach Andrew McDonald will carry on their highly successful leadership tandem for Australia.
England team director Rob Key’s decision to end a period of split coaches for the Test and white ball teams will mean a busier job for McCullum but far greater certainty for his players. It will likely encourage the likes of Ben Stokes and Joe Root to stay on until the next home Ashes in three years.
Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald.Credit: Getty Images
McDonald is currently on a deal that ends in 2026, and Cummins is also on a multi-year CA contract that ends the same year.
But both McDonald and Cummins are, according to three senior cricket sources speaking on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, open to extending their tenures to work together until a blockbuster year in 2027.
For Australia, England’s move is also an indicator that team performance chief Ben Oliver pulled the right rein by resisting temptation to appoint red and white ball coaches in 2022 after Justin Langer’s tempestuous resignation. Cricket Australia preferred to give overall duty to McDonald with the help of a capable group of assistants.
“It is not for us to judge how other countries structure their programs – only they will know what works for them,” Oliver told this masthead. “Despite some moving to format-specific coaching models, we were always confident that a single head coach with quality support would be best for our teams during this period.
“Andrew is doing a brilliant job and has established an excellent off-field support team. The players are enjoying the environment, and the team has delivered some outstanding performances over the past two years.″
It’s the assistants – Dan Vettori, Michael Di Venuto and Andre Borovec – who may hold the key to how long Cummins and McDonald carry on. Vettori, Di Venuto and Borovec are all out of contract next year, but are viewed as key lieutenants to support the senior coach and captain.
Their proficiency has been highlighted by how all have been approached for other coaching roles in the past 12 months, both within Australia and overseas.
While McDonald and Cummins had indicated they would take convincing to do their respective jobs for more than about four years each, the smooth working environment around the national team has encouraged both to think about 2027.
Home series against India and England over the next two summers are mighty assignments in themselves. But 2027 will be another monster year similar to last year, when the Ashes, Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the ODI World Cup will all be contested within the same 12-month period.
A two-year extension to McDonald’s tenure would bring him more in line with McCullum, who was originally on a deal that expired at the end of the 2025-26 Ashes but will now carry through across all formats to the end of 2027.
“There will be times where we have to be smart with stepping support staff in and out and that will include myself, but I don’t see that as a problem,” McCullum has said of sharing the workload.
“When I leave in three and a half years, you want the next group of coaches or those you have brought along to be viable head coach candidates.”
Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.Credit: Getty
Cummins and McDonald built a strong relationship after the latter was appointed senior assistant to Langer for the 2019-20 season, and their personal rapport has been vital to the stability of the Australian setup.
It proved robust enough to get through an arduous 2023 tour of India, a World Test Championship final, an Ashes series and a 50-over World Cup also in India: the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was the only major garland to evade Cummins and co.
By contrast, England excelled in Test cricket under Stokes and McCullum last year, fighting out a memorable Ashes bout with Australia, but then fell in a heap at the World Cup, never contending for the knockout matches.
Another mediocre performance at this year’s T20 Cup ended the tenure of white ball coach Matthew Mott, who has resurfaced as an assistant for the Sydney Sixers. McCullum, tellingly, is also close to the England white ball skipper, Jos Buttler.
“We know each other, we’re mates, we have similar styles of play in our game,” McCullum said. “What I want from Jos is to enjoy the next few years.
“Not to protect anything. 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’.”
Green leads Scottish sweep
Cameron Green starred with ball and bat as Australia made it a clean sweep in Scotland, comfortably winning their third T20 international.
Green took three wickets and made 62 off 39 as Australia chased down Scotland’s 149. The only real blot for the Aussies was another duck for opener Jake Fraser-McGurk .
Australia now move on to Southampton on Wednesday for the first of three T20 internationals against England. Matches follow at Cardiff and Manchester on Friday and Sunday.
The sides will then face each other in five one-day internationals, starting at Nottingham on September 19.
AAP