England’s Test captain Ben Stokes believes it is an unbelievable move to appoint Brendon McCullum as the team’s all-format coach. McCullum took over the Test coaching baton in mid-2022 and he has done a fantastic job with the red-ball team.

England’s former white-ball coach Matthew Mott stepped down after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup and the former New Zealand captain has been given the coaching reins by the ECB.

Meanwhile, Stokes has enjoyed working with McCullum as a Test captain and the duo has adopted an aggressive approach since taking over the onus to get the best out of the players.

“I was very surprised by the news. First and foremost, I think it’s an unbelievable move for English cricket to go back to having a coach in charge of all the teams. You look at what Baz has achieved with the Test side, it’s been amazing,” Stokes told ESPNcricinfo.

“I’m really excited for the white-ball team to have the opportunity to be able to work with Baz, listen to him speak, his opinions. How his outlook on life reflects cricket, if that makes sense,” Stokes said.

The talismanic all-rounder feels England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler will enjoy working with Brendon McCullum, as the New Zealander is known to take the bulls by its horns.

“I think Jos is going to really, really enjoy having him as his coach to work with. And you look at all the new faces who are coming into that white-ball team now, I couldn’t think of a better person for them to come in and work under at international level for the first time,” Stokes added.

The third Test match between England and Sri Lanka will be played at the Kennington Oval, London from Friday onwards.