Senior England player Jos Buttler on Tuesday backed under-fire Brendon McCullum, saying the New Zealander was "as sharp a coach as I've ever worked with".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
McCullum is desperate for success at the T20 World Cup in India, where England face the West Indies in Mumbai on Wednesday, after facing flak for the torrid 4-1 thumping in the Ashes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England coach McCullum was accused of being too laid-back and allowing a drinking culture in the camp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
White-ball captain Harry Brook had to apologise after being involved in an altercation with a night-club bouncer on the eve-of-Ashes tour of New Zealand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Sunday, McCullum was seen sending messages via walkie-talkie to the England players during drinks breaks as they squeezed home against Nepal in a last-ball nail-biter in Mumbai.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It appeared to be part of a more hands-on, proactive coaching approach, and Buttler welcomed it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I think he's had those walkie-talkies for a while now, but then communication from top to bottom has always been really good in the group," former captain Buttler told reporters at the Wankhede stadium ahead of training.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"'Baz' can sit with his feet up and his sunglasses on and look very relaxed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"But he's as sharp a coach as I've ever worked with. He doesn't miss a beat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He was a successful captain, so he's got lots of great messages, knowledge and stuff to pass on to all the players.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"His relationship with Harry Brook has been a great one for this team. They're really close."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Brook took over after Buttler stood down as captain last year, following England's group stage exit from the 50-over Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That followed an embarrassing title defence at the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023 and a semi-final exit as defending champions at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Buttler, who led England T20 World Cup glory in 2022 in Australia, said it had been tricky to adjust to just being a player again after being captain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In his second game after giving up the role, he sought advice from Joe Root, who had stood down as Test captain but played on under Ben Stokes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He was stood at slip and I was keeping wicket. We had five or 10 minutes just talking about it," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"How different it is when he's been captain... and some of the various emotions he felt, the challenges that he found, and yes it was really helpful."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England on Tuesday announced one change from the team that beat Nepal, seamer Luke Wood being replaced by Jamie Overton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wood conceded 14 runs from the 19th over against Nepal on Sunday in taking 1-31 from three overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England team to play West Indies: <\/strong>Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jos-Buttler-t20-sixes1.jpg", "alt_img": "England's Jos Buttler Calls Brendon Mccullum 'As Sharp A Coach As I Ever Worked With'", "alt_title": "England's Jos Buttler Calls Brendon Mccullum 'As Sharp A Coach As I Ever Worked With'", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Jos Buttler Backs \u2018Sharp\u2019 McCullum Amid Criticism Ahead of West Indies Clash On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Jos Buttler has thrown his support behind England coach Brendon McCullum, calling him \u201cas sharp a coach as I\u2019ve ever worked with\u201d as England prepare to face West Indies in the T20 World Cup.", "seo_keywords": "England Cricket Team, Jos Buttler, Brendon Mccullum", "tag": null, "tagging": "England Cricket Team,Jos Buttler,Brendon Mccullum,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "englands-jos-buttler-calls-brendon-mccullum-as-sharp-a-coach-as-i-ever-worked-with", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "589", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-02-11 08:48:26", "updated": "2026-02-11 09:05:47", "img_from": "Image Source: AFP", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "England Cricket Team, Jos Buttler, Brendon Mccullum", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-02-11 08:48:26", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/englands-jos-buttler-calls-brendon-mccullum-as-sharp-a-coach-as-i-ever-worked-with-188073" }