Joe Root said he was gutted when he learned Brendon McCullum would no longer coach England’s Test team. Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast ahead of the Pakistan series, Root gave his most personal reaction to the coaching change that reshaped English cricket this summer.
“I was gutted when I found out Brendan was no longer going to be the Test coach. He’s someone that I feel has really got the best out of me personally. I’ve loved the way he sees the game and the way that he’s opened my eyes up to looking at it slightly differently. I’m very glad that we still get to work together in the white-ball stuff.”
Joe Root, Sky Sports Cricket podcast
The ECB invoked the notice period in McCullum’s contract on July 12. CEO Richard Gould said the decision was “strictly based on recent results.” England lost seven of their final nine Tests under McCullum, including a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia and a 2-1 home series loss to New Zealand that triggered Ben Stokes’ retirement.
McCullum’s full Test record reads 27 wins, 20 losses, and 2 draws across 49 matches. He won 11 of his first 13. Opposition teams adapted to England’s aggressive approach, and the results collapsed.
Root’s words carried a different weight. A batter past 12,000 Test runs crediting a coach with changing how he sees the game is not a courtesy. It is an admission that McCullum unlocked something in Root that Root could not unlock alone.
He described McCullum as someone he owes “a huge amount” to and has “become pretty close with.” The personal bond matters because it reveals how deeply McCullum’s influence ran, beyond tactics into trust.
McCullum remains England’s white-ball head coach. Root’s relief at continuing to work with him in that format was clear.
Joe Root has a lot of respect for Brendon McCullum. pic.twitter.com/Qpk0V4PX1z
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 20, 2026
When the Player Thrives but the Team Falls
Root’s tribute exposes a tension the ECB cannot resolve with a contract clause. McCullum made England’s best batter better. He also oversaw a team that lost its way in Test cricket over the final 18 months.
McCullum’s philosophy was built on giving players freedom to express themselves. That freedom produced Root’s most prolific scoring period but also left the team unable to adapt when opponents and conditions demanded patience.
Gould’s statement framed the sacking as purely results-based. Root’s words frame it as the loss of a coach who changed how he thinks about cricket. Both are true.
Insider Read
McCullum coached through permission. He told players to back themselves, play their way, trust instinct over method. For Root, who had spent a decade building one of the most technically refined games in Test history, that permission unlocked shots and approaches he had suppressed.
Stephen Fleming coaches through structure. Five IPL titles with Chennai Super Kings came from game plans, role clarity, and repeatable processes. The shift from McCullum to Fleming is not just a change of personnel. It is a change from a coach who said “play your way” to one who says “play this way, and here is why.”
Root will need to translate the freedom McCullum gave him into the framework Fleming builds. His words on the podcast suggest he knows it.
Also Read:
- Brendon McCullum Removed as England Men’s Test Coach
- Vaughan: ECB Had No McCullum Contingency
- Darren Lehmann: ECB Already Decided McCullum Replacement
- Woakes Backs Fleming as England Coach
- Broad on ECB Test Coach Succession
- McCullum and Fleming: The CSK Coach Connection
- Harmison: England Coaching Mess
