England announce cuts to white-ball coaching team ahead of Brendon McCullum starting new job next year

Marcus Trescothick will hand control of England’s white-ball teams to Brendon McCullum on a comprehensive winning note after the final match of the Caribbean tour was washed out.

Trescothick, 48, told Mail Sport this weekend that he holds a long-term ambition of succeeding McCullum as England’s head coach, after successfully adopting techniques to combat the anxiety that cut short his playing career.

But he will drop back into the ranks alongside fellow assistants Paul Collingwood and Jeetan Patel following a 3-1 Twenty20 series victory – England’s first in six away series versus West Indies stretching back to 2019.

Torrential rain provided a terminal interruption at 4.25pm, just five overs into the fifth game with West Indies 44 without loss.

It was enough time for Evin Lewis to edge the home team ahead in a series six count that stood at 38-38 after Sherfane Rutherford finished Saturday’s fourth encounter with back to back blows over the rope off Dan Mousley.

Targeting his favourite area, he hauled both the recalled Jofra Archer and fellow pace bowler John Turner into the grass bank at midwicket.

England Test coach Brendon McCullum will take over the white-ball sides starting in January

Some of England’s white-ball specialists will now spend the next two months before their next international assignments – the eight-match tour of India in the new year – reflecting on mostly positive trips here.

Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Saqib Mahmood have all put in match-winning performances after either being dropped from squads or left off central contract lists while of the emerging cricketers here, Jacob Bethell – who joins up with the Test team in New Zealand later this week – has advanced his cause the most with his first three England 50s.

The switch for Jos Buttler to specialist batsman appeared to invigorate him without having a detrimental effect on Phil Salt, his replacement behind the stumps here, and will be extended into the T20 and one-day matches in India in January and February.

England will have a different looking coaching team for that venture after culling two of their long-serving, white-ball specialists Carl Hopkinson and Richard Dawson with immediate effect.

McCullum, who has signed an over-arching deal with the ECB taking him up until the end of 2027 – a period incorporating the next two Ashes series plus 50-over and Twenty20 World Cups – will finalise who does what going forward in the coming weeks.

‘Hoppo and Daws are two outstanding coaches who have played important roles in the success of our white-ball teams,’ said Rob Key, the ECB’s director of men’s cricket, of England’s outgoing fielding and spin coaches.

‘In addition to their coaching expertise with our senior teams they have also developed young players through the age groups to help set up the next era of our white-ball teams. England Cricket is in a better place because of them and I wish them well in the next chapter of their careers.’