‘It’s been a dire Test match year for England’ – Brendon McCullum critical of Joe Root’s captaincy after Brisbane debacle

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum came down hard on England for not being able to perform to expectations in Test cricket over the last 12 months. Joe Root and Co. are currently in Australia playing a five-match Test series that they are trailing 0-1. In the opening Test at The Gabba in Brisbane, the Brits lost by nine wickets in a tad over four days.

In the last two sessions of the third day’s play, Root and Dawid Malan showed great rear-guard action, but their efforts weren’t enough for England to eke out a draw. McCullum, who retired from all forms of cricket in 2019, said that Root’s men were left high and dry when put under pressure in the opening Ashes Test.

Brendon McCullum not happy with Root and England

“I think Joe Root is a wonderful guy, an outstanding cricketer and they talk about him as a very good leader. I haven’t really seen it. England had opportunities, they had their chances, but they just weren’t really strong enough. When the pressure came on and Australia started to flex, England just went missing,” McCullum told on SENZ Breakfast.

“That’s their seventh Test loss in the calendar year which is just remarkable. Their worst ever has been eight and it’s been some time since that. The worst ever in the history of Test cricket is nine by Bangladesh. It’s been a pretty dire Test match year for England,” he stated.

The second Ashes Test is set to get underway on Thursday, December 16 at the Adelaide Oval. Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart will host the other three Tests in the series.

As far as McCullum is concerned, he changed the face of New Zealand after taking over as their skipper. Under his leadership, the Black Caps made the final of the 2015 World Cup where they lost to Australia. The veteran was clear cut in saying that Root can’t be rated amongst the best skippers in world cricket for now.

“To me, leadership is not just about being able to make the right calls at the right time tactically as a skipper. He’s not, to me, up there as one of the best in the world at it,” McCullum added.