'Bold and inspiring' - Atherton on McCullum's appointment as England red-ball boss

On 12th May, Brendon McCullum was appointed as the coach of the England Test team on a four-year deal. With this development, the former Kiwi batter will step aside as a Kolkata Knight Riders head coach from the subsequent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

McCullum featured in 101 Tests for New Zealand and amassed 6453 runs, with 12 tons. In his last Test, he played a sensational knock of 145 off 79 balls against Australia in 2016. However, he does not possess any experience in a coaching role in the red-ball cricket but has been only involved in IPL and CPL. 

In the recent interaction, Michal Atherton reckoned that it's a bold and inspiring choice of a coach from the managing director of England men's cricket, Rob Key. He thinks the Kiwi legend was not in the frame of things and is a bold choice.

"I think it's a very bold and imaginative choice and an inspiring choice from Rob Key. Giving Ben Stokes the captaincy was the obvious choice, and so his first big decision was to give Brendon McCullum the Test job," said Atherton. 

"A week or so ago, I don't think that was on anybody's radars, so he's not made the obvious choice here, but I think it's a very bold choice," he added. 

Atherton thinks even though McCullum has limited experience as a coach, but boasts of a prolific red-ball career, which consisted of a triple hundred as well. 

"His limited coaching experience has come in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders and in the CPL with their sister team. But he did play 100 Tests, scored a Test match triple hundred, and he was very significant in Test cricket in his own right," the cricketer turned commentator further stated. 

Atherton thinks McCullum and Stokes will complement each other due to their aggressive approach to the game, and there will be a clear message as a unit to the other players of the team. 

"He's a nice fit with Stokes, they both approach the game and play the game in a similar manner, and they'll look to give very clear message, captain and coach, and show they're singing from the same hymn sheet to a team you now expect to be given a bit of freedom and license to play.

"Neither Stokes nor McCullum are shy characters when it comes to playing the game of cricket; they like to take the game on and play it aggressively. I think there's a sense of optimism on the back of Stokes being made England captain, and that optimism has been given a bit more of a boost with McCullum," Atherton concluded. 

In their next assignment, England will be up against New Zealand in a three-match Test series scheduled to be played in June.